Josh Dobbs Replaces Taylor Swift as Header for Official NFL X Account

What does it take to outshine Taylor Swift's power as a social media superstar? Apparently, 312 total yards and two touchdowns in your second game with a franchise will do it.

The Minnesota Vikings dealt for quarterback Josh Dobbs when Kirk Cousins went down with an Achilles injury, sending the Arizona Cardinals a sixth—and conditional seventh—round pick in 2024 for the 28-year-old.

In his first game just days after he arrived in Minnesota, Dobbs led the Vikings to a win even though, as Kevin O'Connell put it, there were moments when coaches "just needed him to say the words and then I could explain what they meant after that."

Dobbs passed that test with flying colors. On Sunday, he passed his second test in equally impressive fashion, only this time he had a little more preparation. Dobbs scored one touchdown rushing, and he passed for another as the Vikings claimed a 27-19 win over the New Orleans Saints. The Vikings are now 6-4, second in the NFC North behind the Lions with a 1.5-game cushion over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in final wildcard slot.

All of that, it seems, was enough to displace the NFL's biggest off-field storyline from the league's official X (formerly Twitter) account. After Dobb's heroics, the league switched its header from a collage of Swift photos to Dobbs sipping from a Gatorade cup on the sidelines.

The league added a Dobbs-related bio ("in Dobbs we trust"). Dobbs himself posted about the switch, writing on X: " .@NFL We [eyes emoji] you!"

Dobbs' story is perfect for social media. His nickname, the Passtronaut, is made for memes, and it prompted an actual astronaut to wish him "Godspeed."

Dobbs seems to be an engaging presence who promised his teammates last week that he "will know everyone's name on this team" by kick-off on Sunday. He followed up that promise with his big game against the Saints, after which he proved that he is pretty good at social media himself.

Dobbs posted a mashup of his leaping touchdown run in the second quarter aligned with a popular TikTok in which a user performs a surprisingly pitch-perfect cover of Creed's "Higher."

That came after last week, when Dobbs posted highlights of his debut win against the Falcons spliced between scenes from Creed's famous performance of "Higher" at a Dallas Cowboys game, with a photoshop of his face on the iconic flying man.

It remains to be seen how long the NFL will leave Dobbs at the top of its page, since multiple X users noted that the NFL changed its header to C.J. Stroud for a stretch last week.

Still, if the league wants to continue putting musical artists high on its page, Creed is enjoying something of a renaissance in the sports world. Maybe the Passtronaut can take the NFL higher.