The Minnesota Vikings could've/should've beaten the Dallas Cowboys. They didn't. 31-28 Cowboys.
So much for a winning streak. So much for that dream of being 7-5 at the three-quarter pole of the season. The playoffs are still a possibility for the Vikings but it's a much longer shot than it was. Outside of the Cowboys and their division pals in the East there are too many good teams in the NFC. A 10-6 record is often good enough for a playoff berth but this year it might not be. The Vikings have to win each of their remaining six games to reach 10-6. Until they're eliminated there's a chance. That remote chance will disappear if they give away games like the one they gave to the Cowboys yesterday.
The Vikings simply made too many mistakes.
Kris Boyd didn't come set on an otherwise well-timed and well executed fake punt. He was the receiver on the play so I guess that he was antsy to get the play going. This was one of those mind-numbing mistakes that simply can't happen when a team has no margin for errors.
The officiating was horrible. It becomes more horrible the more I think about it. Some examples:
-The Cowboys' first score was set up when they were gifted the ball as the result of safety Donovan Wilson's helmet-to-helmet hit on Kirk Cousins. What should've been an easy call of roughing the passer was deemed a fumble recovery. The Cowboys were gifted the ball on the Vikings' 30-yard line. Three plays later the Cowboys had a 7-0 lead. If the officials make the right call, the Vikings' first possession of the game gets a nice start. At least it's a nice start yardage-wise. A helmet-to-helmet hit on the quarterback is never a nice start.
-Olabisi Johnson was flagged for facemasking after a first down catch. In all my years of watching football I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've seen an offensive player called for facemasking. This shouldn't have been one of the them. Speaking of offensive facemasking, I remember one that wasn't called in a game between these two teams during the Emmitt Smith days. Smith's hold on the facemask of a Vikings player was so secure that he couldn't let go of it. He left the game with a thumb injury. No flag was thrown on the play. No flag should've been thrown on Johnson's play. But it was that sort of officiating.
-Hit on a defenseless receiver could’ve been called on the hit that caused a Dalvin Cook fumble. That was another little gift that gave the Cowboys an opportunity to get a field goal at the end of the first half.
-There was a mystery hold called on Garrett Bradbury on a nice Dalvin Cook run. There was a puzzling illegal chop block call on Dakota Dozier. Missed holding calls on the Cowboys’ long touchdown run and the two-point conversion. There’s eight points that probably shouldn’t have been. Missed defensive pass interference on a second half third down pass to Adam Thielen. And finally another b.s. illegal hit penalty on Harrison Smith. The officials have sure had some sort of freaky thing for Smith this season. The game was a heavy dose of officiating whiffs. It happens. Officials make mistakes but those mistakes usually balance out. There was no balance to the officiating in this game. I admit to a pissy view of the officiating fresh off a game that didn't end as it probably should've ended. That first missed call that gifted the Cowboys an early fumble recovery, early momentum, and early touchdown is difficult to forgive. Or forget.
Kris Boyd dropped an interception in the end zone that would've ended the game.
Justin Jefferson dropped a pass on the Vikings' final possession of the game. If he catches that ball, he converts a first down and the Vikings take the first step on what could've been the game-winning drive. It was Jefferson's first drop of the season. It might take at least a dozen games until we see the next one.
This just felt like a game that the Vikings should've won with ease. The offense dominated the second half. The first three possessions following intermission were impressive time and game controlling touchdown drives.
9 plays, 75 yards, 5:10
12 plays, 81 yards, 6:47
5 plays, 75 yards, 2:25
The offense took control of the game.
Unfortunately, the Vikings defense would follow an impressive second half series with one that was difficult to watch. The Cowboys' first touchdown of the second half came on a five-play, 75-yard "drive." It looked like the Vikings defense was in a training camp thud practice. The "drive" ended with a 42-yard touchdown stroll by Tony Pollard. It was the sort of "drive" that will wake me in horror during the coming nights. Fortunately, the defense followed that series with a strong one. Unfortunately, the defense followed that strong series with another poor one. And there's the difference in the game.
The 31-28 loss isn't just on the defense allowing two second half touchdowns. The offense closed the game with two possessions that totaled four plays for 16 yards. The first possession could've sealed the game. The second possession could've won the game. Instead of doing either they gave the Cowboys opportunities. For the game, Cousins threw eight incomplete passes. He threw five of those incomplete passes on the final two possessions. The Vikings offense had the Cowboys defense reeling for 25 of the final 30 minutes. It was the Vikings game but they let it slip away.
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