The Minnesota Vikings strange season continued last night. The injury report for their Thursday night game against the Dallas Cowboys included head coach Mike Zimmer. He had emergency surgery for a detached retina on Wednesday and was out for the game. Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer was the head coach for the night.
The Cowboys escaped Minnesota with a 17-15 win. It was the Cowboys 11th consecutive win. The loss was the Vikings sixth in their last seven games. The team heading in the right direction was outplayed by the team hearing in the wrong direction. The Vikings offense played well enough to win. The defense played well enough to win. Actually, the defense dominated the explosive Cowboys offense for damn near the entirety of the game. Ironically, it was the unit that Priefer coordinates that made the critical mistakes that turned the game in the Cowboys favor. Mistakes that lead to 10 second half points. The biggest of those mistakes handed the Cowboys an easy touchdown.
Early in the fourth quarter Vikings receiver Adam Thielen fumbled on a punt return at their own 8-yard line. The Cowboys recovered and the offense needed a single play to take a 14-9 lead. An interesting thing about this fumble is that this officials needed a Cowboys challenge to even see it. Another interesting thing about this fumble is that it was similar to a Cowboys fumble earlier in the game. In the earlier instance Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott fumbled and Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr came up with the ball. This looked like the first big break of the game. The Cowboys challenged the call and replay showed that Elliott re-gained possession of the ball while he was on the ground before Barr wrestled it from him. On Thielen's fumble it looked like Thielen had his hands on the ball but he never fully possessed it. Both replays went in the Cowboys favor and both were, unfortunately, the right call. This special teams mistake was the biggest break of the game and directly led to the deciding score. It doesn't happen and the Cowboys don't win.
Vikings punter Jeff Locke was having an excellent season heading into this game. He had a terrible game against the Cowboys. He boomed a 16-yard punt and a 25-yard punt. The Vikings first offensive possession following the Thielen fumble ended with Locke punting from their own 21-yard line. His 33-yard punt gave the Cowboys terrific field position at their own 46-yard line. Five players later Dan Bailey kicked a 39-yard field goal for a 17-9 lead with just over four minutes to play.
A 9-7 Vikings lead became a 17-9 Cowboys lead on back-to-back special teams gaffes.
The Vikings defense was outstanding.
Rookie quarterback Dak Prescott and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott have been the engine of the Cowboys often explosive offense.
Prescott's stats:
12/18 139 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked 3 times. One of which forced a fumble. Modest stats. His biggest plays were made with his feet. Six carries for 37 yards. It felt like every one moved the chains.
Elliott's stats:
20 carries for 86 yards and a touchdown. He added another 19 yards on four receptions. It was the lowest rushing totals for the league's rushing leader since Week 2. Until a late 30-yard run that set up the Cowboys field goal Elliott was gaining yardage against the Vikings defense at about a three-yard clip.
The Cowboys most explosive offensive play was a 56-yard Prescott heave to Dez Bryant. The rookie thrower took advantage of a blown zone coverage and had Bryant running free. It would have been a touchdown heave if Bryant hadn't stumbled while making the catch. It was also the only significant mistake that the Vikings defense made all night. The Cowboys took advantage. That's what good teams do. Elliott scored on a one-yard plunge a play later. While the throw was the highlight play of the Cowboys scoring drive it was a Prescott run that got it going when it looked like the possession was moving in the wrong direction. The Cowboys were facing a third-and-13 from their own 13-yard line. The Cowboys receivers were covered and Prescott managed to scramble for 14 yards. The Vikings inability to keep quarterbacks from moving the chains with their feet have been a huge problem the last two weeks.
With a less than decent line the Vikings offense is a limited one. They aren't explosive. They have to keep the down-and-distance in their favor. When they can do that they can be pretty good. For the most part they did that last night. They dominated the time of possession. They had more first downs, more yards, fewer turnovers. They even gained a robust 87 yards on the ground. The only real issue with the offense last night was having to settle for three field goals rather than three touchdowns. And that is, and has been, a significant issue. Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph had a touchdown catch in his hands on one of those opportunities but couldn't corral it. It was a beautiful throw by Sam Bradford. It would've been a spectacular catch by Rudolph but he has to make it. The Vikings offense has such a difficult time scoring touchdowns that they can't miss an opportunity like that.
Officiating mistakes have to stop deciding NFL games. The Vikings offense finally scored a touchdown with 25 seconds to play. That cut the deficit to 17-15. The Vikings needed a two-point conversion to force overtime. They made that harder for themselves with an offsides penalty. On the attempt from the seven-yard line Bradford sailed the pass high over Rudolph's head. Cowboys defensive tackle Cedric Thornton clearly and obviously hit Bradford in the face mask. A penalty. The Vikings should have had another shot to tie. Referee Tony Corrente told Bradford that Thornton didn't hit him in the facemask. Corrente isn't going to like the replay.
The Vikings have to win their remaining four games to make the playoffs. They have to stop letting wins flutter away from them. Four of their six losses would be wins if a single play in each game was executed better/correctly. One play in each of those four games and the Vikings would be sitting pretty at 10-2. The difference between an excellent season and a mediocre one is such a fine line in the NFL. They also need the Detroit Lions to lose three of their remaining five games. With the charmed life that the Lions are living this season that's a tall task.
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