Welcome back! After a way too long bye week, the Dallas Cowboys are rested, healed up some bumps and bruises, and look to continue their five-game winning streak as they head to Minnesota to take on the Vikings on Sunday Night Football. The Cowboys get their chance to go on the road and show the national audience what they are made of heading into a tough environment against a team who I believe is a little better than their record states.
The Vikings come into Sunday night on a two-game win streak to get themselves back to .500 on the year. While they are 3-3, their wins are against the 2-5 Seahawks, the 0-7 Lions, and the rapidly deteriorating 3-4 Panthers in overtime. Their losses speak more to me, though, and might be more impressive than their wins. They lost to the Bengals in overtime, fell to the undefeated Cardinals by one, and lost to the Browns by a score.
This Vikings team is a little bit confusing to me with having what seems to be a tendency to play up, or down, to their opponent’s level. Without further ado, what do you say we dive right in? Bringing you guys some matchup history, a look at going on the road, a trio of players to watch, and then hope to stay hot and send us off with another gut prediction that comes to fruition.
Dallas Cowboys vs Minnesota Vikings History
All-Time Record: 17-15 in favor of the Cowboys (4-3 postseason record in favor of the Cowboys)
Most Recent Result: Dallas 31, Minnesota 28 on November 22, 2020
For a non-NFC East opponent, the Cowboys have run into the Vikings a little bit more than one would think at first glance. Since 2016, this will be the fourth matchup of the teams. This matchup is pretty even and for the last 10 seasons, neither side has reeled off more than two consecutive victories. It does go back a ways though, as the Cowboys and Vikings date back to 1961 when the Cowboys kicked off this inter-conference game by handily beating the Vikings twice in a three-week period.
What better place to start with the history of this matchup than the Roger Staubach to Drew Pearson Hail Mary? It was the playoffs in 1975 and the Cowboys were down 14-10 with less than a minute to go to the 12-2 Vikings. In a moment of desperation, Roger Staubach heaved a 50-yard toss being fueled by a hope and a prayer. On the receiving end of that pass was Drew Pearson coming down with the pass to score a touchdown and forever etch “Hail Mary” into football lore forever.
It wasn’t a push-off and I won’t stand for any slander saying otherwise. Drew Pearson is the original 88 for the Cowboys and this was a huge chapter in his, LONG AWAITED AND VERY OVERDUE, Hall of Fame career.
The Vikings have had a doozy of a time in postseason play. They lead the league in the most playoff appearances, division titles, conference championship appearances, and are tied with the Bills for most Super Bowl appearances all without winning a title. They also hold the crown of most playoff losses of any team in the NFL.
Last year saw the Cowboys, led by quarterback Andy Dalton, go into Minnesota and pull off a bit of a shocker. Dalton tossed three scores, Zeke and Pollard combined for 163 on the ground, and the defense forced three fumbles. Sounds a bit like we got a sneak peek at the 2021 team without knowing it.
The Vikings are led by Kirk Cousins who has been quietly putting up a solid year. He has himself in the top-13 of yards, completion percentage, and touchdowns, while only throwing two interceptions. In other words, he isn’t losing the Vikings games. Dalvin Cook has only played in four games but when playing, he’s averaging nearly 92 yards on the ground.
The Vikings are middle of the pack or worse defensively in total yards allowed, passing yards allowed, rushing yards allowed, and points per game given up. They don’t necessarily stand out anywhere, but they also don’t have any glaring weaknesses. They are a team that won’t often give the game away, but a solid performance can handle them.
Dallas Cowboys vs Minnesota Vikings Weather Outlook
Location: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN
Stadium Type: Dome, turf
Predicted Forecast: High of 46, low of 32, partly sunny and cooler, winds of 12-13mph with gusts up to 17-18mph
C’mon, you know I can’t let us talk about two outdoor games in a row, that’d just be crazy. Back indoors we go for what should be a perfectly climate-controlled evening inside U.S. Bank Stadium. That said, the chilly air in Minnesota is my perfect day for football. I hope any of you tailgating grab some chili, warm up some cider, and put your warmest hoodie on under your Cowboys jersey for me.
The Cowboys will take the field for their sixth straight game on artificial turf, their lone grass game being the season opener at Tampa Bay. The overall 5-1 record can be said for their turf/grass split as well. Are we onto something here with this team? Home field advantage would mean turf, I’m just saying. Okay, I won’t get too far ahead of myself.
The Vikings fans will have this place rocking on Sunday night. An enclosed stadium, primetime game, trying to knock off the Cowboys… yeah, it’s going to be loud. This will likely be the largest test the Cowboys have seen to this point in regards to an opponent having home-field advantage.
Even with the noise, I will still take the Cowboys indoors with no weather limitations on their offensive playbook. Open it up and give the country what they want to see on Sunday Night Football, Kellen, I believe in you. But really, the Cowboys should have a good chance to quiet things down if they can score early and continue utilizing their ability to run the ball.
Dallas Cowboys vs Minnesota Vikings “Under the Radar” Players
Dallas Cowboys: Amari Cooper, WR
Minnesota Vikings: Tyler Conklin, TE and KJ Osborn, WR
I don’t know why, but Amari Cooper seems to always go a little less talked about than other weapons on the Cowboys’ offense and other receivers in the league. It could be his calm, workman-like demeanor, his consistency, or other things.
But all he has done is put up 373 yards and four touchdowns so far this year. Cooper is on pace for yet another 1,000-yard season even though this one seems to not be discussed. That’s why I like Cooper this week. And in a big way.
Last game we saw CeeDee Lamb step up hugely. The running backs have been creasing defenses and we’ve even seen the tight ends get into the act. Just maybe Kellen Moore lulled everyone to sleep and we see Cooper get his turn being the key in the game plan. I like a vintage Amari Cooper performance Sunday night.
The Vikings placed cornerback Patrick Peterson on the IR and will be giving his reps to Cameron Dantzler. I think we see Cooper get mismatches in the play-action game and one-on-one shots against a defender he should overwhelm.
I like him on a long catch and run touchdown in the first half to open some scoring up and pour in about six or seven more catches. Give me a stat line of eight catches, 134 yards, one touchdown for Cooper in a primetime performance reminding everyone just how firmly cemented he is in the conversation of top-10 wide receivers in the NFL.
Similar to the Cowboys, the Vikings have a trio of weapons on offense between wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, and running back Dalvin Cook. That leaves tight end Tyler Conklin and third receiver K.J. Osborn on the second line to attack a defense with.
The Cowboys have given up 30 receptions for 364 yards and four touchdowns to tight ends so far this season. With the secondary playing well, the Vikings could look to use play-action crossing patterns with Conklin and Hamler to open things up behind the linebackers.
Hamler and Conklin have reeled in over 28% of the Vikings’ receptions and 31% of the teams’ receiving yards. These two are consistent players the Cousins goes to when his primary weapons are taken away. The Cowboys need to stop Jefferson, Thielen, and Cook and force these secondary weapons to try and win the game.
Dallas Cowboys vs Minnesota Vikings Gut Prediction
Prediction: Cowboys 33, Vikings 29
This game is going to have something weird happen in it. It’s on Halloween night and it sends some shivers down my spine. For some reason, I think we are in for some weird stuff. Could be a safety, punt return touchdown, kickoff return touchdown, who knows, but it leads to an odd score and a fun one. This is also a game the Cowboys prove themselves to the national audience.
The Cowboys should be able to move the ball on the Vikings’ defense. As I stated earlier, they are mostly middle of the pack in most major statistical categories. They are the 16th best defense in total yards (358ypg), 12th best in passing yards allowed (230ypg), 26th best in rushing yards allowed (128ypg), and 13th best in points per game allowed (22.8ppg).
Kellen Moore will look to run the ball early and establish the ground attack against a bottom-tier rush defense and neutralize the crowd. The Vikings lead the league sacks with 21 and in creating pressure on 32% of opponent’s dropbacks. The ground game should slow this pass rush down and open up the play-action passing game for Dak Prescott to attack.
I like the offense to find success in the screen game to Zeke and Pollard along with some tight end screens to Dalton Schultz which have been wonderfully executed to this point so far. The Vikings are pretty healthy overall on defense, aside from one cornerback, and I don’t see a ton of glaring weak players to pick on, but across the board, I like the Cowboys’ wide receivers against the cornerbacks Bashaud Breeland, Cameron Dantzler, and Mackensie Alexander.
The Cowboys would be best suited to get out to a lead quickly and play extraordinarily aggressively in the first half. I’m talking about the continued fourth-down aggressiveness and stealing a possession with a fake punt or surprise onside kick. The Cowboys need to come out of the gates hot and eliminate home-field advantage as early as possible.
The Vikings will want to help Kirk Cousins by getting Dalvin Cook going on the ground early. If the Cowboys can get to an early lead and force more predictable play calling, this defense should thrive on Sunday night. I like the Cowboys in a matchup of Kirk Cousins versus an opportunistic secondary paired with a defensive line knowing they can only worry about pressure.
This game is going to stay close and be a bit unnerving for the Cowboys but that’s what Halloween is all about anyway. It is going to be a spooky movie that ends up with the good guy coming out on top at the end. The Cowboys leave their old ways of primetime collapses behind them and continue what feels like a special season.