Clarence Hill: 5 things from the Dallas Cowboys’ perfect 40-3 victory vs. the Vikings
The Dallas Cowboys unleashed a week’s worth of pent-up frustration and anger on the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The 40-3 victory was the emphatic and personal response to last Sunday’s unconscionable loss to the Green Bay Packers when the Cowboys blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead for the first time in franchise history, snapping a streak of 195 straight games.
On Sunday, things couldn’t have more perfect of the Cowboys on both sides of the ball as they dominated the line scrimmage from start to finish against a Vikings team that previously had only one loss on the season. Dallas recorded its largest road win in franchise history and snapped Minnesota’s seven-game winning streak.
Loss number two for the now 8-2 Vikings left a mark across the NFL as it was certain evidence that when things are going right for the Cowboys, who are now 7-3 on the season, they are as good as any team in the league.
The Cowboys, who scored on seven straight possessions to open the game for the first time in franchise history, used a balanced offense led by quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Tony Pollard.
Prescott completed 22 of 25 passes for 276 yards and touchdown passes of 30 and 68 yards to Pollard, who rushed 15 times for 80 yards and had six catches for 109 yards.
The much-maligned Cowboys run defense held the Vikings to 73 yards on the ground and recorded seven sacks against quarterback Kirk Cousins, who is now 2-9 all-time against the Cowboys.
The dominance in yardage was 458-183.
Never in McCarthy’s career as head coach has head a team respond from a bitter loss with such a resounding and dominant victory. It’s a reason why he believes the Cowboys have what it takes to contend for a Super Bowl title for the first time since 1995.
“No, this team has got the work ethic,” McCarthy said. “It’s got the attitude. They’ve got a hard mindset, which you have to have. Frankly, seven days ago, just like I told them in the locker room, this game is going to help us. For as good as we’ve been, particularly about midway through last year, I think we’re clearly better this year than last year. And I think we’ve grown in that way.
“So to have the opportunity to have the lead and put it away, I’m glad we were able to get that seven days from last week. ... Let it go and just learn from it. And I think that’s clearly just part of our lesson.”
Clarence Hill’s 5 things from the Cowboys’ 40-3 victory against the Vikings:
Thunder and Lighting is back with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard
At this point, no one questions that Tony Pollard is the team’s most explosive and dangerous playmaker on offense and he needs to touch the ball as much possible.
That much was proven when he rushed for 131 and 112 yards against the Bears and Packers in place of injured starter Ezekiel Elliott, who was out with a sprained knee.
Elliott returned to the starting lineup against the Vikings but Pollard again was the star of the show with 15 carries for 80 yards and six catches for 109 yards, including touchdown receptions of 30 and 68 yards from quarterback Dak Prescott.
“It’s not my problem,” Prescott said with a laugh when asked if teams know how fast Pollard is. “They should turn on the tape and check him out. Obviously, if it’s him breaking runs in the backfield or him catching the ball on swing routes or go balls, I continue to say the guy’s special. He can do a lot of different things to help this offense on this team day in and day out.”
Elliott was also a big part of the game plan Sunday, rushing 15 times for 42 yards. But his presence as the short-yardage battering ram made all the difference.
Elliott scored two touchdowns on 1-yard runs and had a number of third-and-1 conversions for first downs as the Cowboys were 12 of 17 on third down during the game. They were 42 of 113 going into the game.
“When this offense is rolling, we’re rolling,” Elliott said. “I think it’s tough for those defenses to stop us, always having two fresh backs. It definitely puts a lot of stress on those defenses. Definitely felt good to get back out there, especially on a win like this.”
No one is questioning Dak Prescott after Vikings game
Quarterback Dak Prescott took a lot of unnecessary heat after the 31-28 overtime loss to the Green Bay Packers last week.
There were think pieces on whether he was the right guy to lead the Cowboys to a Super Bowl and actual questions about whether he was the team’s weak link.
Never mind that Prescott rebounded from two second-quarter interceptions to stake the Cowboys to a 28-14 lead in the fourth quarter and the defense blew it by not being able to get a stop when it mattered most against the Packers.
Well, Prescott simply painted a masterpiece against the Vikings in terms of accuracy and decision-making.
He completed 22 of 25 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns with a season-high quarterback rating of 139.3 before giving way to backup Cooper Rush in the fourth quarter with Cowboys up 40-3.
Prescott’s 88.0 completion percentage was the second-highest of his career behind an 88.6% completion rate against Tampa Bay in 2016. His 11.0 yards-per-attempt was the third-highest of his career and the most since his 12.7 yards-per-attempt in 2019 against the N.Y. Giants.
Prescott was the beneficiary of a perfectly called game by offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who forced the run down the Vikings throats.
Consider the first half when Prescott completed 15 of 17 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown. Running back Tony Pollard had 11 carries for 57 yards and three catches for 34 yards and a touchdowns. Ezekiel Elliott had 11 carries for 35 yards and a touchdown.
The Cowboys controlled the clock and kept the Vikings off the field.
His accuracy was highlighted on a 27-yard rope to CeeDee Lamb on the sideline to set up a field goal before the end of the half.
And then there was the perfect 68-yard strike to Pollard in the third quarter for a walk-in score.
“I think you saw vintage Dak,” owner Jerry Jones said. “You saw the Dak that I hope I get to see for 10 more years, at least.”
Cowboys stopped the run and had a sack party
Mike McCarthy made it clear to the Cowboys that if they wanted to get back to what they do best and having sack party, then they had to stop the run.
After giving up 240 to the Bears and 207 yards to the Packers, run defense has been identified as the weak link of a defense that leads the league in a sacks and ranked fourth against the pass.
It was especially acute against a Vikings offense that featured one of the league’s best runners in Dalvin Cook.
But it was the Vikings who blinked. Cook had eight carries for 45 yards in the first half but he didn’t get enough carries. He finished with 72 yards on the day on 11 carries.
Linebacker Micah Parsons then started the party and the onslaught on the first drive of the game with a sack and forced fumble on quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Parsons had two sacks in the game, giving him 10 on the season. Dorance Armstrong also had two sacks. DeMarcus Lawrence, Dante Fowler and safety Jayron Kearse had one each as the Cowboys harassed Cousins into submission.
The only downside was that Parsons left the game in the fourth quarter with an apparent knee injury. He did walk off the field on his own.
He did return on the next drive.
“Let’s be honest, the MO is going to be people are going to try to run the ball on us,” McCarthy said. “They’ve got their hands full when they try to throw it. And that’s how we felt coming in. We felt that just coming in here, stop the run and let our pass rush have some opportunities. We felt like we were successful. And Micah definitely got us started.
“Micah was extremely productive today. His urgency was at a different level. So I just think, like anything, he’s still young. He has the ability to be elite and this is another standard type game for him that he’ll need to continue to play to.”
Kicker Brett Maher says boom goes the dynamite
Kicker Brett Maher was already having a good season before Sunday.
He had made 15 of 17 field goals and 22 of 23 extra points.
But his play against the Vikings was one for the record books.
Maher opened the game with field goals of 27 and 53 yards. But it was what he did before halftime that took the cake.
Maher seemingly made a 60-yard kick to put the Cowboys up 23-3 as time expired. However, the officials blew the play dead before the kick to review a 27-yard pass from Dak Prescott to CeeDee Lamb on the previous play.
It wasn’t so much that they reviewed the play but that they waited so long to do it. The Cowboys had even called a timeout because the play clock was running down and the officials said nothing.
Only as Maher was lining up for the kick did they blow a whistle that no one heard.
The play was upheld and Maher was forced to do it again.
This time, he left no doubt with a booming kick right down the middle with yards to spare.
Maher is now 4-of-4 from 60 or more yards in his career. He’s made the most 60-yarders in NFL history. No one else has made more than two.
Maher closed the scoring with a 50-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, it was his seventh make of 50 yards or more this season, a new franchise record.
McCarthy rules the North; Thanksgiving Day battle vs. Giants loom
Sunday’s game against the Vikings was huge because it was the middle game in a stretch of three games in 12 days and it came after the disappointing 31-28 overtime loss to the Green Bay Packers and four days before a Thanksgiving Day showdown with the NFC East rival New York Giants, who are also 7-3.
The Vikings game was a must win as the Cowboys avoided a two-game losing streak and the possibility of it turning into three games with the Giants game looming.
Now, the Cowboys have regained their swagger and a some momentum with the blowout victory against the Vikings.
It also allowed coach Mike McCarthy to gain a little satisfaction in that he still runs the North, despite the loss to his old Packers team.
The Vikings game ended a stretch of four games against NFC North opponents. The Cowboys went 3-1 with wins over the Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears as well as the Vikings.
“4-0 would be better, but feels good. Feels good,” McCarthy said.
