Struggles Defending The Pass

Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy was pressured on just 22.2% of his drop backs against the Cowboys, the second-lowest pressure rate he's faced this season. With more than 2.5 seconds to throw, McCarthy completed 10 of his 14 passing attempts for 187 yards and a touchdown.

Dallas' defense, especially in the secondary, did not have much of an answer for the Minnesota's passing attack. They allowed seven passing plays of 15 or more yards, three of which had below a 36% chance to be completed, according to Next Gen Stats.

The big plays combined with no sacks from Dallas' defensive font and just five total pressures on the night wasn't a good combination for the Cowboys.

Vikings Blitz Caused Trouble

Nobody in the NFL blitzes more than the Vikings, and they brought heavy pressure again on Sunday night, blitzing on 46.3% of the Cowboys' drop backs.

Brian Flores' unit generated 21 pressures on Dak Prescott, and sacked him twice. The 51.2% pressure rate on Dak Prescott was the highest he's faced in a game since Week 12 of the 2022 season. When pressured, Prescott completed nine of his 19 passes for 120 yards, and -9.5% completion percentage over expected.

Following the game, Prescott credited Minnesota' zero-blitz packages that had a lot of success, with Dallas' pre-snap protection checks at the lines and routes not developing having an impact on their success. "Sometimes we actually had the exact call we wanted, maybe [we] missed a block," Prescott said. "Other times, they're getting there faster, we've got a route or a concept that I've checked to that I think works but they're playing with vision and it doesn't… it was just a revolving door of trying our answers, and they did a hell of job understanding."

Red Zone, 3rd Down Woes

The Cowboys' offense has been statistically one of the best in the NFL throughout the entire season, but their Achilles heel has been scoring touchdowns in the red zone and keeping drives alive on third down. That was the case again on Sunday night.

On five red zone trips, the Cowboys scored touchdowns on just two of them. On the other three trips, the Cowboys settled for three field goals. On third down, Dallas finished two of 12, good for just 16.7%.

"Situationally, we didn't play very good tonight offensively," Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. "We weren't very good on third down, and we weren't very good in the red zone. And that's why you see us struggle in the second half, and that's kind of where it starts."

Big Man Pick

The Cowboys' defense couldn't have asked for a much better start, with an interception on the second play of the game. Donovan Wilson batted J.J. McCarthy's first pass of the game out of the air, and big Quinnen Williams came down with the interception for Dallas.

Williams' interception was the first turnover that the Cowboys have forced in two games, with their last coming on November 23 against the Eagles. It's their first interception since November 17 against the Raiders.

The interception was the second of Quinnen Williams' career, and his first since 2023 against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6.

Trickery!

On the pregame broadcast, Dak Prescott said that the Cowboys needed to start this game fast and score a touchdown on the opening possession. They did just that, with Javonte Williams punching it in from the one-yard line.

What got them there, however, was a fake field goal. After it looked like Dallas was going to kick a 46-yarder to start things off, Bryan Anger flipped the ball over his head and behind his back to Brandon Aubrey, who picked up six yards and a first down to keep the drive alive.

After Dallas struggled with fakes on special teams a year ago, Dallas' first fake field goal since 2021 was executed perfectly and kept the drive alive, ultimately resulting in a touchdown rather than a field goal.

Fading Playoff Outlook

Coming into Sunday night, Dallas' odds at reaching the postseason were already bleak, at less than 10% according to Next Gen Stats. Now, they are even bleaker, resting at less than one percent.

The best route remains winning the NFC East, which means that Dallas would have to win their final three games against the Chargers, Commanders and Giants. Additionally, the Eagles would have to lose all three of their remaining games, with them coming against the Bills and Commanders twice.

Mathematically, the Cowboys aren't eliminated yet, but they'll need some serious help from the outside as well as drastic improvement from their own team if they even want a chance.