Yes, Cris Collinsworth really compared Joshua Dobbs to Patrick Mahomes

NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth was having a hard time containing himself Sunday night, just as the Broncos were having a hard time containing Vikings quarterback Joshua Dobbs.

Multiple times Collinsworth gushed about Dobbs' playmaking ability, even checking himself at one point because he was conscious of the danger of giving too much praise to Dobbs following an escape act and completion to T.J. Hockenson in the first half.

"I keep telling myself don't overhype Joshua Dobbs," Collinsworth said. "But he is just a rock in the pocket. He is not flinching at all. . . . (The Vikings) just look sharp, don't they?"

At that point, the Vikings led 7-3 and had outgained the Broncos 180-32. They seemed to be on the way to a 14-3 lead, but the drive stalled and they settled for a field goal.

Still, in the third quarter with the Vikings leading 10-9, Collinsworth couldn't quite check himself.

As he and play-by-play partner Mike Tirico talked about the first half, Collinsworth said of Dobbs' escape-and-throw TD pass in the first half, "When I first saw it, I almost screamed, 'Patrick Mahomes!' It was just like the one in Tampa a year ago. But then I said stop it, don't start comparing him to Patrick Mahomes. Don't do that. But you can't help yourself because there are flashes to those kinds of plays."

Later, after a series of first-half Dobbs highlights against pressure, Collinsworth alluded to the touchdown and comparison again.

"The escape, the strength and the flip for the touchdown pass," he said. "It looked like another quarterback from some other time in the past year."

Tirico chimed in to add, "Shh. Don't say it."

The Mahomes comparisons seemed apt for a while, even if we all know Dobbs isn't Mahomes. Not long after those flattering comments, Dobbs ran for a touchdown that gave the Vikings a 17-9 lead.

Praise for Dobbs emerged multiple times Sunday, much to the chagrin of Broncos fans and to their ultimate delight after Denver pulled out a 21-20 win over the Vikings.

As Patrick Reusse and I talked about on Monday's Daily Delivery podcast, the final quarter-and-a-half was a bit of a reality check for Dobbsmania and the Vikings.

But it was hardly a full stop given how many plays Dobbs made on Sunday, how Collinsworth gushed about Dobbs and how the Vikings were in prime position to win if not for some key blunders.

Here are four more things to know today:

*Kudos to colleague Mark Craig for breaking down the baffling third-and-1 play that began with T.J. Hockenson under center and ended with Dobbs fumbling after a brutal helmet-to-helmet hit that somehow wasn't called a penalty on the field.

*Andrew Krammer and I will have more on Dobbs' day, the Vikings' run game and mounting mistakes during Tuesday's film review podcast.

*The Wolves and Lynx on Monday announced a new merchandise partnership with Fanatics to run both their in-arena gameday retail and online store.

*The Gophers weren't going to beat Ohio State on Saturday under almost any circumstance, but playing so conservatively and not going for it on two early fourth downs set a very passive tone in the 37-3 loss.