ARLINGTON, Texas — The Minnesota Vikings outlasted the Dallas Cowboys 28-24 in Primetime.
The ‘slow start’ woes continued for the Cowboys. A missed field goal followed by two forced punts in the first quarter is not exactly the promising start Dallas was hoping for.
Things picked up for the Cowboys offensively in the second quarter in the passing game. On third and long, Dak Prescott connected with Amari Cooper down the right sideline for a gain of 20 yards. The play shifted the momentum in favor of Dallas and set up the team’s first score of the night: a 23-yard pass/catch from Dak to Michael Gallup.
The Silver and Blue continued to make strides on the offensive side of the ball in the second half with Cooper’s acrobatic catches down the sideline, including his toe-drag touchdown in the third. No.19 finished with 11 receptions 147 yards, a 13.4 average after the catch, and a touchdown.
Following the game, Jason Garrett told me, “ I thought Amari was fantastic in the game, obviously, and he made a number of big plays, time and time again and not easy plays. Dak made some big time throws in some critical situations on third down and in the red zone. Dak and Amari hooked up on some stuff that was not easy. Plays on the sideline, getting your feet down. The ball can only be placed on one spot, he threw it there, and Amari catches it and catches it clean, keeps his feet down. It was big time stuff and those are two really good football players.”
The Cowboys’ however could not get into a rhythm with the running game. Ezekiel Elliott was consistently boggled up with his longest run amounting to six yards. He concluded the game with 20 attempts for 47 rushing yards. In a head-to-head battle between two teams that have a run-first priority offense with two of the NFL’s most elite rushers, the Vikings clearly won.
Minnesota’s featured back, Dalvin Cook, gashed the Cowboys’ defense. They could not do anything to stop the Vikings’ screens or outside-zone runs. Cook amassed 26 attempts for 97 rushing yards, a 3.7 average per carry, and a touchdown. He accumulated seven receptions for 86 yards (longest-30), and a 12.3 average after the catch. The defense did not set edges or finish tackles and Cook broke free time-and-time again.
“ He [Cook] tried to stretch us out sideline-to-sideline and make us run, “ DeMarcus Lawrence said following he game. “ He’s a quick guy; I’ll give it to him. It’s all about us rallying and tackling, that’s it.”
The Cowboys will regroup this week and hit the road to face the Detroit Lions. The team overall did better on the penalty front with five for 39, as opposed to last week’s ten for 104 yards against the Giants. Dallas has to figure out the execution issues early on in ballgames for the tough schedule ahead. The team has the talent and proven resilience, now it is about showing that fight for 60 minutes and not shooting themselves in the foot early on.
