Tag: Dallas Cowboys vs Minnesota Vikings

WATCH: Elliott scores second TD after Brown’s long gain

The Cowboys’ dominance continued, with Elliott’s second score of the game as Dallas puts a bow on the game in Minnesota.

The day continues to get worse for the Vikings. With a 30-3 lead, the Cowboys defense bullied Kirk Cousins with two sacks and were forced to punt. Wide receiver KaVontae Turpin returned the punt back across the 50 and delivered a big hit at the end.

Quarterback Dak Prescott continued his almost-perfect day with a 35-yard dime to wide receiver Noah Brown down to the 1-yard line. The Vikings threw a challenge flag out of pity but the call was confirmed. After a first down incompletion, Prescott handed it to running back Ezekiel Elliott, who spun off of a hit and freely walked into the endzone for his second score of the game.

Elliott’s score is the fourth of the day from the Dallas running backs and it’s an onslaught from the Cowboys with a 37-3 lead. With 8:15 left in the third quarter, it may be time for Dallas to send in the backups as it’s all but decided in Minnesota.

WATCH: Prescott en fuego, delivers teardrop dime to Pollard for 68-yard TD

The Cowboys continued the dominant day with their longest play from scrimmage, a perfect connection from Prescott and Pollard. | From @CDBurnett7

The Cowboys started with the ball in the second half holding a 23-3 lead. After a pair of losses, it looked like Minnesota could regain some momentum with a 3rd-and-14 coming up. Dallas had feasted on short third downs with an impressive run game in the first half, and the Vikings never expected what was next.

Quarterback Dak Prescott went through his progressions, then saw running back Tony Pollard, who hit the gas on a wheel route. Prescott dropped a dime and Pollard waltzed down the field for a long score.

Pollard’s 68-yard touchdown is his second of the game and the longest Cowboys play from scrimmage this season. Dallas takes a 30-3 lead over the 8-1 Vikings, an emphatic response after blowing a 14-point lead just a week ago.

Watch: Cowboys’ Lamb toe-tap leads to Maher thumbing nose at interfering refs

The first half in Minnesota ended in drama with a toe-tap grab, late review and two booming kicks from Maher for good measure. | From @CDBurnett7

The Cowboys had the ball at their own 14-yard line with 31 seconds left. Quarterback Dak Prescott slowly marched down the field with quick throws before delivering a dime to wide receiver CeeDee Lamb for 27 yards.

Lamb taught a toe-tap masterclass on the play, clearly keeping both feet in while securing the ball. This set up kicker Brett Maher for a 60-yard kick, which he drew inside the right upright for his NFL record fourth 60+ yard field goal. It was 23-3 Dallas for a moment until the officials made a shocking change.

The crew announced that they were reviewing Lamb’s highlight grab and allegedly made the call before Maher’s booming kick. Lamb’s catch was clear, and the review appeared as a ploy to keep the score closer to the Cowboys faithful. Nonetheless, Maher walked right back on the field and made it no doubt right between the uprights for the 60-yard field goal, which might as well be a 120-yarder.

The make was followed by a furious celebration by Prescott as Maher walked off the field with some swagger. Thanks to the kick, Dallas goes to the locker room with a 23-3 lead and receives the ball to start the second half.

WATCH: Pollard hits the jets for 30-yard TD to stretch Cowboys lead

The Cowboys physical approach set up Tony Pollard, who turned a short throw into a long touchdown in a flash. | From @CDBurnett7

The Cowboys came into Minnesota after a heartbreaking loss and let out their anger with physicality throughout the first half. With less than two minutes in the half, Dallas has run a monster 37 plays to the Vikings’ 20 with over 19 minutes of possession.

Thanks to yet another defensive stop, the Cowboys went smashmouth on their fourth drive of the game. Kellen Moore’s consistent use of running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard has paid dividends as Dallas has jumped out to a big lead. The latter capped off the first half with a check-down grab but he turned on the rockets for a 30-yard touchdown down the sideline.

The first half has been a strong one for Dallas as a whole and the strength of the offensive line made things easy for quarterback Dak Prescott. The touchdown throw is Prescott’s 150th of his regular season career and gives the Cowboys a 20-3 lead.

WATCH: Elliott caps off surgical Cowboys TD drive that featured Pollard

After squandering a short field, the Dallas offense marched 75 yards in 10 plays to score the first touchdown of the day. | From @CDBurnett7

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott got off to a slow start against the Packers, but wasted no time looking accurate against the Vikings. On the first drive after the strip-sack by linebacker Micah Parsons, Prescott delivered an accurate throw to tight end Dalton Schultz but he couldn’t corral it, resulting in a Dallas field goal.

On the next drive, Prescott was a perfect 4-for-4, including a key throw on third down to wide receiver Michael Gallup for a 14-yard gain. Following the conversion, running back Tony Pollard broke off defenders for 18 and 20-yard gains back-to-back. Set up in the red zone, running back Ezekiel Elliott did what he does best, diving into the endzone to take a 10-3 lead.

The 10-play, 75-yard drive was a strong one for the Cowboys’ confidence to take pressure off of the defense. Elliott’s touchdown is his fifth of the year, making a living at the goal line.

Cowboys-Vikings Inactives: Elliott officially back, Lawrence and Brown also to play

The seventh-year running back returns for Dallas while the former Viking linebacker won’t be taking on his former team in Minnesota. | From @CDBurnett7

The Dallas Cowboys will welcome running back Ezekiel Elliott back into the fold in Week 11 against the 8-1 Minnesota Vikings. Elliott has missed the last two games, dealing with a knee injury suffered against the Detroit Lions in Week 7. Tony Pollard held down the fort in Elliott’s absence, with 246 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the two games without his seventh-year running mate.

On the other side of the ball, defensive end Demarcus Lawrence is good to go after spending the week on the injury report with a foot issue. With a struggling run defense, Lawrence’s services are much-needed on top of his ability as a pass rusher with five sacks on the year.

The linebacker room will miss Anthony Barr for another week. The former Viking won’t take on his former team after being limited in practice and he’s expected to return for Thanksgiving. Take a look at the full list of inactives for Cowboys-Vikings.

DVOA, EPA conflict in Cowboys-Vikings Week 11 stats preview

Despite their last performance, the Cowboys are road favorites over the 8-1 Vikings. @ProfessorO_NFL finds the edge is small, according to analytics.

Dallas enter Week 11 with a 6-3 record after an overtime loss to the Green Bay Packers last weekend. The Cowboys will look to right the ship against their fourth consecutive NFC North opponent.  The offense is expected to have RB Ezekiel Elliott back in the mix, which should help the Cowboys potent rushing attack.

The Cowboys opponent this week, the Minnesota Vikings, have an 8-1 record and have a seven-game winning streak on the line. Offensively, the Vikings have a two-headed rushing attack and multiple receiving threats to attack a defense. Each week we open up the Advanced Stat Notebook to analyze how each team ranks in EPA, DVOA, ANY/A and Toxic Differential. These four key metrics have a high correlation to win probability

 

Cowboys-Vikings TV coverage maps, how to stream, listen, wager in Week 11

Dallas will look to bounce back from their loss in Green Bay and complete their NFC North gamut with a win. Here’s how to catch the action. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The NFL schedulers had some fun with the Dallas Cowboys’ slate of opponents in 2022. Bookending their Week 9 bye week, the Cowboys will face their fourth straight NFC North opponent on Sunday, when they take on the Minnesota Vikings for the fourth year in a row. After handily handling the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears before the break, Dallas fell to the Green Bay Packers in Week 10 when they squandered a 14-point fourth-quarter lead and lost in overtime.

Now, they’ll look to start a new winning streak against Kirk Cousins and the Vikings, who just so happen to share the NFL’s best record. The games have all been close, as it’s been over a decade since a team won by more than four points. So what will the 2022 version have in store? Here’s how to make sure you don’t miss any of the action.

Cowboys announce 54-man roster vs Vikings on heels of positive injury news

The Cowboys made one roster move on Saturday, here’s a look at the full slate of contenders to be active on game day. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys entered the bye week with some bumps and bruises, emerged relatively healthy then fell right back in line with most of the league. Their Week 10 loss to the Green Bay Packers included several players who were worse for the wear, appearing on the practice report throughout the week. As the week of preparation for the Minnesota Vikings went on, a bug went through the team and locker room, impacting a couple guys who had emerged from the last contest unscathed.

DT Quinton Bohanna and punter Bryan Anger both fell ill, with the former missing the last two practices and the latter sitting out Friday. Both carry a questionable tag, as do four other players with actual injuries. Fortunately, the needle seems to be pointing up for them. RB Ezekiel Elliott (knee) practiced on a limited basis for the second-straight week, but the outlook of the star running back must be better as Dallas didn’t call up an insurance policy at the position.

Nor did they bring up insurance for DE Demarcus Lawrence (foot), who missed Wednesday and Thursday but was limited on Friday.

That may not be as much of an indicator though, as Dallas has a ton of depth at the position. Lawrence is one to watch for on the inactives list to be announced on Sunday about an hour and a half before kickoff. Also questionable are LB Anthony Barr (hamstring), who missed last week alongside Elliott, and CB Anthony Brown, who was knocked out of the Week 10 loss with a concussion he suffered on a big-play touchdown. So who else is available? Here’s a look at the 54-man roster, which includes one elevation from the practice squad along the offensive line, Dakoda Shipley.

Cowboys’ roster move sends clear message about Ezekiel Elliott’s status

By not elevating Qadre Ollison- as they had done in Weeks 8 and 10- the Cowboys seem ready for the return of the two-time rushing champ. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Officially speaking, the Cowboys made just one minor roster move on Saturday. But reading between the lines, it answers a major question heading into Sunday’s NFC showdown with the 8-1 Vikings.

Dallas elevated offensive lineman Dakoda Shepley from the practice squad to the active gameday roster. As Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News points out, it’s the third time Shepley has been elevated since signing with the club just before the start of the regular season. If the Cowboys are to use him again beyond Week 11, they will have to award him a full-time roster spot.

But the bigger news, perhaps, is what it says that Shepley was the only practice squad elevation.

The Cowboys did not move up running back Qadree Ollison as they had done in their previous two outings. And that seems to be a pretty clear signal that- unlike in Week 8 versus Chicago and Week 10 against Green Bay- lead back Ezekiel Elliott will suit up and play in Minnesota.

Elliott has missed the Cowboys’ last two games with a hyperextended knee, suffered in Week 7’s win over Detroit. He has been practicing with a knee brace, and he says he plans to wear it at U.S. Bank Stadium for the important matchup that quarterback Dak Prescott characterized as “a playoff game.”

The Vikings are allowing a middle-of-the-road 118.3 rushing yards per game; Dallas is averaging 134.6 yards per game on the ground. In the two games Elliott sat out, Tony Pollard set career highs in carries (22) in Week 10 as well as rushing yards (131) and rushing touchdowns (three) in Week 8.

Elliott has just 443 rushing yards so far this season, but the team maintains that his return will bring more than just an extra set of legs to the offensive backfield.

Elliott’s bruising style of play “rubs off on guys,” guard Zack Martin told reporters this week. “I think [the combo of both Elliott and Pollard] gives us something. When you get smacked in the mouth a few times by 21, you’re going to be breaking down in the hole trying to to make a tackle.”

By not elevating Ollison from the practice squad, the Cowboys appear to be prepping for Elliott to get back to his mouth-smacking ways in Minneapolis.

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