ATLANTA — Josh Dobbs traded his newly minted Vikings jersey for a Superman cape on Sunday afternoon at Mercedes Benz Stadium.

That set the stage for the 28-year-old journeyman quarterback less than a week after the Vikings acquired him at the trade deadline. He got the ball back with 2 minutes, 8 seconds left on the clock, needing a touchdown to win the game. Not a problem.

In a moment that could end up defining this season, Dobbs led the Vikings on an 11-play, 75-yard drive, culminating with a touchdown pass to receiver Brandon Powell. That put the Vikings on top for good in a 31-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons that fans will be telling their grand kids about in the future.

In the end, Dobbs finished 20 of 30 passing for 158 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and 66 yards and another touchdown rushing. All in a game that he entered as the backup quarterback not expecting to play in his wildest dreams.

After the Falcons went ahead 3-0 early in the game, the Vikings had something rolling as rookie quarterback Jaren Hall started to find a rhythm. He showed some swagger while leading the Vikings down the field and had them in position to score a touchdown.

Everything changed when Hall tried to scramble for a score. He got hit hard near the goal line, and while the Vikings tied the score 3-3 thanks in large part to his run, it came at a cost as Hall was ruled out with a concussion.

That put Dobbs into a nearly impossible situation as he took over the offense less than a week after being acquired from Arizona at the trade deadline. It went about as poorly as expected for the Vikings in the immediate aftermath as the Falcons sacked Dobbs in the end zone for a safety to go ahead 5-3.

After the Falcons got another field goal from kicker Younghoe Koo to stretch the lead to 8-3, they forced a fumble with Dobbs scrambling out of the pocket. Though the game appeared to be on the verge of getting away from the Vikings, the defense stepped up big time, with the Falcons having to settle for yet another field goal to make it 11-3.

On the next possession, Dobbs started to get his bearings, marching the Vikings 75 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 11-10 at halftime. That scoring drive was highlighted by Dobbs miraculously scrambling for a first down, then calmly throwing a touchdown to running back Alexander Mattison.

After the teams traded field goals after halftime to make it 14-13, the Falcons got the big play they were looking for when quarterback Taylor Heinicke threw a screen pass to tight end Jonnu Smith. Thanks to some solid blocking, Smith went 60 yards for a touchdown to stretch the Falcons’ lead to 21-13.

It felt like the defense was going to need to make a big play for the Vikings to have a chance. It made a couple.

It started with a forced fumble by cornerback Akayleb Evans, which set up an 18-yard touchdown run by Dobbs that tied the score 21-21. It continued with an interception from cornerback Byron Murphy, which set up a 31-yard field goal from kicker Greg Joseph to push the Vikings in front 24-21.

As good as the Vikings were on defense throughout the game, they appeared to tire down the stretch, and the Falcons made them pay with running back Tyler Allgeier finding pay dirt to make it 28-24.

That set the stage for Dobbs, and he delivered.

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