MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The Dallas Cowboys (6-3) will head to Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Vikings (8-1) on Sunday afternoon. The Cowboys are coming off of an ugly OT loss to the Green Bay Packers after having a 14-point lead entering the fourth quarter. They are looking to redeem themselves against Kirt Cousins and company, the Vikings have won seven straight and are first in the NFC North.
Things to look out for this week:
Defense:
The matchup of the year might be upon us as Trevon Diggs goes head-to-head with one of the best wide receivers in the league right now, Justin Jefferson. Jefferson had the catch of the year last week against the Bills and finished the night with a whopping 193 yards receiving and one touchdown to lead his team to a 33-30 win over Buffalo. Minnesota targeted Jefferson 16 times against the Bills and most of their offense goes through him, Jefferson has racked up 98+ yards per game in the last six games.
“He gets open against everybody. He plays good against every opponent. Every top corner you put in front of him, he’s..winning his individual matchups. The tape doesn’t lie.” Cowboys Safety Jayron Kearse says Justin Jefferson is “the best receiver in the league right now, hands down.
With the loss of CB Anthony Brown a few weeks ago due to a concussion, Diggs will have his hands full on Sunday with Jefferson. Diggs has three interceptions on the season and 12 pass breakups. As of Wednesday Brown was still in concussion protocol and not participating in practice but did participate in walk-through with the team. Brown will try and take some reps with the team on Thursday.
Dallas will also have to look out for Minnesota’s WR Adam Thielen and TE T.J. Hockenson. Both do well for the Vikings offense and average about 50 yards per game.
The Cowboys pass defense is good and not the problem we have been seeing lately. Dallas has held quarterbacks to under seven yards per attempt and as a whole they have seven interceptions on the season.
Dallas’s pass rush still has the most sacks in the league with 35 total for the year thus far and are led by none other than Micah Parsons. The Cowboys could use the pass rush to their advantage due to Minnesota’s okay offensive line. The Bills sacked QB Kirt Cousins four times and the pressure of the Bills’ pass rush forced two picks.
DeMarcus Lawrence has also been a huge part of this pass rush for the Cowboys and has five sacks so far this season. Lawrence did not practice on Wednesday due to a foot injury, Head Coach Mike McCarthy said in the press conference Thursday morning that they are just being smart with him but they do intend him to play on Sunday against the Vikings.
Biggest Issue on Defense:
The biggest issue Dallas is currently seeing on defense is their rush defense and they are going to have to keep Dalvin Cook controlled if they want to win this game. Cook finished with 14 carries last Sunday and racked up 114 total yards rushing. Cook averages five yards per carry so far this season.
The Cowboys rush defense currently gives up 4.8 yards per carry to their opponent and what killed Dallas last week was the 138 yards they gave up to Packers RB Aaron Jones.
“Until we (put) out this fire, we’re gonna keep seeing it. If people want to keep doing their own thing, we’re gonna deal with this all year. We have to be accountable. We have to stay in our gaps, gotta stop the run. Until we do that, it’s gonna be a long year.” Micah Parsons told us after the Green Bay game.
Offense:
Dak Prescott had two interceptions last Sunday against the Packers which resulted in 14 points for Green Bay which turned into a momentum changer for the Packers that resulted in them getting back in the game and getting the victory.
Biggest Issue on Offense:
The Cowboys need to get better on their pass offense if they want to be in competition with their opponents. Prescott threw three touchdowns last week and connected well with WR1 CeeDee Lamb but he also threw two interceptions and struggled yet again on third down conversion going 5-of-15. Third down efficentcy has been a problem all season and it needs to improve.
“We talked very openly about the two interceptions and I think the thing we focus on is the little things. At the end of the day with our pass offense we have to get the ball distributed.” Head Coach Mike McCarthy said in Thursday morning’s press conference.
Prescott will have pressure on him as the Vikings pass rush does not play around and is led by Za’Darius Smith who has 9.5 sacks so far this season. As a whole Minnesota has 26 sacks on the season and it continues to climb.
Where Dallas can get their yards in is with Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott in the run game because the Vikings run defense lacks. If Elliott returns to play he will start for Dallas but he has missed the last two games with a knee sprain that they are trying to contain and not let get any worse. Pollard finished last Sunday with 115 yards rushing and averages 5.2 yards per carry.
These two teams will go head-to-head on Sunday at 3:25 CST.
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