By Nathan Lee
The Dallas Cowboys found their way back into the win column on Sunday, ending the Minnesota Vikings’ three-game win streak with a 31-28 victory.
There were six lead changes in the game, with four of them in the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys are now 3-7, half a game back of the 3-6-1 Philadelphia Eagles and tied with the New York Giants and Washington Football Team for second place in the NFC East.
Cowboys Start Off Strong
Coming into Sunday’s game, the Cowboys had scored just three touchdowns since Dak Prescott’s season-ending injury.
Against the Vikings, the Cowboys scored two touchdowns in the first half alone. Ezekiel Elliott caught a touchdown for his first score since week 5, while CeeDee Lamb caught an acrobatic touchdown to take the record for most receptions by a rookie in Cowboys’ history.
Safety Donovan Wilson made a huge impact early. In the first quarter, he strip-sacked Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins to give the Cowboys a short field for the Elliott touchdown. Then, near the end of the first half, Wilson forced a Dalvin Cook fumble that led to a Cowboys’ field goal and a 16-7 halftime lead.
Back-and-Forth Affair Consumes the 4th Quarter
The Vikings did not go down quietly. Over the last few weeks, most of Minnesota’s attention had been directed towards the NFL’s leading rusher, Dalvin Cook, who ran for 115 yards and scored a touchdown in the first half Sunday.
In the second half, Cook got the dirty work done on the ground, but it was Cousins and wideouts Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson who got the ball into the endzone.
On the first two offensive drives for the Vikings, Adam Thielen caught his tenth and eleventh touchdowns of the year to break the record for most touchdowns by a Vikings wide receiver through the first ten games.
Although the Cowboys answered to take a 24-21 lead, Cousins threw a perfect 39-yard play-action pass to Justin Jefferson to give the Vikings a 28-24 lead with 9:37 left.
In response, Dalton led Dallas on an 11-play, 61-yard drive and ended it with a 2-yard pass to tight end Dalton Schultz to give the Cowboys the 31-28 win.
Stat Crunch
The Cowboys’ offense had life for the first time since the Prescott injury. Ezekiel Elliott had his first 100-yard-rushing game of the year, while Dalton threw for three touchdowns and led his team when it mattered most.
Cousins had the tenth-best passer rating of his career at 140.1 as he threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns. Thielen had eight catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns, and Cook had another great game on the ground. In the end, it was not enough to give the Vikings their fourth win in a row.
What’s Next
The Cowboys have improved every week since Prescott’s injury. After getting blown out by Washington, they got a first-half lead against the Eagles, led the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers for almost 47 minutes, and beat the Vikings in a thriller.
Despite a losing record, they are half a game behind in the NFC East. In the final six weeks, they are the only team in the division that, as of week 11, will play five more teams with a losing record.
Dallas will start the six-game stretch on Thanksgiving Day against Washington, hoping to avenge their week 7 loss.
Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m, and the game will be televised nationally on FOX.
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