MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The Dallas Cowboys (7-3) bounced back after an ugly loss to Green Bay last Sunday defeating the Minnesota Vikings (8-2) 40-3 on Sunday afternoon in U.S. Bank Stadium.
Dallas struggled last week giving up a 14-point lead to Green Bay which resulted in an overtime loss by three. Throughout the entire week the Cowboys players expressed their frustrations and used the word ‘mad’ in many sentences. They were very mad about the outcome of that game and they bounced back today defeating Minnesota by 37 points. The 37-point margin was the highest margin of victory on the road in franchise history.
Micah Parsons started the game off with high expectations after sacking the quarterback resulting in a fumble recovery that gave Dallas the ball. The Cowboys were unable to convert it into a touchdown but they got three on the board and before we knew it that was just the beginning.
The Cowboys began to rally on offense and it was the run game, led by Tony Pollard that got them going. Dallas had 458 total yards of offense while the Vikings only had 183. Pollard finished the night 189 total yards, 109 in receiving yards and 80 in rushing yards and finished with two touchdowns.
Ezekiel Elliott also had a stellar night and finished the day with 15 carries for 42 total yards and two touchdowns. We talked about this earlier in the week about the importance of the run game for this Dallas team and they executed that today against the Vikings.
That being said, QB Dak Prescott used his wide receivers and tight ends and racked up 307 total yards of offense and got a little bit from everyone. Pollard led in receiving yards for the day but CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, Dalton Schultz, Malik Davis, and Jake Ferguson all racked up some yards for the Cowboys.
Dak Prescott finished the day 22-of-25 for 276 total yards for two touchdowns and 0 interceptions.
The Cowboys offense held their own today scoring 40 points and showed pose the entire game, but where the game really solidified was the Cowboys defense and it started and ended with the pass rush. Dallas sacked quarterback Kirk Cousins seven times and gave him no time in the pocket to look for his no. 1 guy Justin Jefferson. Jefferson was held to three catches for 33 yards and zero touchdowns on the day. Micah Parsons and Dorance Armstrong both recorded two sacks on the night.
Dallas has been struggling all season with the run defense and today they completely turned things around. Prior to this game they gave up 207 total rush yards to the Packers, 240 to the Bears, 117 to the Lions, and 136 to the Eagles. Today they only gave up 73 total rush yards to the Vikings and held them to just three points the entire game. After scoring a field goal in the first half the Vikings remained scoreless for the next three quarters.
Dallas will have a quick turn around as they will host the New York Giants in AT&T Stadium on Thanksgiving Day in Arlington TX.
