The Dallas Cowboys lose in the most mercurial of fashions

The Dallas Cowboys faced the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night in Arlington. While the Cowboys would lose the game, it was for the most ironic of reasons.

Heading into Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, most Dallas Cowboys fans probably felt pretty good about their chances. Besides, the Cowboys would be playing at home and they would be facing a familiar foe in Kirk Cousins.

While both of the above factors were indeed true of the matchup, they turned out not to be indicative of the way that things would play out for the Cowboys. Before you know it, it seemed like the Cowboys were in an insurmountable hole. The Cowboys found themselves down 14-0 with 32 seconds left in the first quarter.

Although they eventually closed the gap and maintained a pretty back and forth pace all game long with the Minnesota Vikings, there was one key difference in their approaches. The Minnesota Vikings ran the ball when they wanted to and passed when they needed to. The Dallas Cowboys had to do everything through the air, as their running game was totally shut down.

This is what ultimately cost the Dallas Cowboys this game. Although they had the passing game going, for the most part, a time when they needed to be able to convert a big-play by running the ball would eventually come and it did.

On the second to the last sequence of Cowboys’ plays, the offensive series before the final Hail Mary drive, the Cowboys were pretty much able to drive all the way down into the red zone. When they entered the red zone and became confined by the boundaries, they needed to be able to convert effectively on the ground to keep the chains moving while opening up things for the pass, but they just weren’t able to.

While it is hard to pinpoint the exact cause, the offensive line or the Vikings’ defense, Ezekiel Elliott could have been much better on the last run play of this particular drive, the third-down run attempt. He attempted to stretch it all the way to the outside but hesitated in an attempt to either freeze the defender or cut back inside, when he should have just continued to press the outside as quickly as he could to get upfield for the most possible yardage.

Elliott could have been better on Sunday, he wasn’t sharp at all. This was a huge game for the Cowboys, with the Eagles on a bye week, it now leaves them tied for the division lead although Dallas owns the tiebreaker for seeding purposes.

The Dallas Cowboys face the Detroit Lions next week and would be wise to do all they can to come away with a win. The Philadelphia Eagles face the New England Patriots, which means that there could be a great opportunity for the Cowboys to possibly jump out as the lone leader of the division again. First, they must handle their own business against the Lions though, and they must recalibrate the running game to do so.