This latest stop in Minnesota on Joshua Dobbs’ seven-year, seven-team NFL journey has become his most eventful experience in less than two weeks.

The Vikings have enjoyed having him even more.

Dobbs kept an injury-thinned offense on track in his first start, throwing for a career-high 268 yards and contributing two touchdowns to help the Vikings build a 24-point halftime lead and hold on to beat the New Orleans Saints 27-19 on Sunday for their fifth straight victory.

“I did pinch myself,” Dobbs said, just 12 days after he was acquired in an emergency trade with Arizona and two days after he finally moved out of his hotel. “It’s just been really cool being able to take it all in.”

“He had a fantastic week of practice,” O’Connell said. “I’m having fun coaching him right now.”

T.J. Hockenson outgained the Saints by himself in the first half with 10 catches for 128 yards and a score for the Vikings (6-4), who stalled out after the hot start. Mekhi Blackmon and Byron Murphy had fourth-quarter interceptions of downfield heaves by Jameis Winston that ended consecutive Saints possessions, and Winston’s last-chance throw into a crowd in the end zone on the final play was knocked safely to the turf.

“We let some get away from us there at the beginning of the second half we’d like to have back,” safety Harrison Smith said, “but when the time came, we made the plays.”

After Derek Carr was forced out in the third quarter with a concussion and a shoulder injury, Winston entered with a 27-3 deficit and delivered touchdown passes to Chris Olave and A.T. Perry on highlight-reel, high-degree-of-difficulty catches in the end zone over Murphy. Alvin Kamara contributed the vital 2-point conversion runs.

The Saints (5-5) caught a break when Ty Chandler, whose first career touchdown run came in the first quarter for the Vikings, had a third-and-1 scamper for a 29-yard score called back for a questioned holding call on right tackle Brian O’Neill midway through the fourth quarter.

But the NFC South leaders have yet to beat a team with a winning record this season.

“We can’t keep digging ourselves into these holes,” coach Dennis Allen said.