1) When Tony Dorsett earned his record-setting 99-yard touchdown run at Minnesota on Jan. 3, 1983, there were only 10 Cowboys on the field. Which Dallas player was also supposed to be in the game?

Because of the loud crowd inside the Metrodome, fullback Ron Springs misheard the play call and so left the field. And according to Cowboys running backs coach Al Lavan, with Dallas at its own 1-yard line, Springs was actually supposed to get the ball on that play in an effort to give the offense a little more room. Instead, with Springs standing on the sideline, Dorsett took the handoff, split the line of scrimmage and promptly sprinted down the right sideline into history.

2) After the Cowboys traded Herschel Walker to the Vikings in 1989, how many players were they eventually able to acquire or draft using picks received in the deal?

When the Cowboys traded their best player in Walker, they received five ho-um players and three 1990 draft picks. But those ho-hum players were all tied to conditional draft picks if Dallas cut them, so owner Jerry Jones and head coach Jimmy Johnson, who had every intention of cutting those players, wound up with eight Minnesota draft picks. They then used those picks to wheel and deal their way to seven players. Two were brought in by trade (Stan Smagala and Alonzo Highsmith) and five joined the team through the draft: Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, Ring of Honor member Darren Woodson and Pro Bowler Russell Maryland, as well as Kevin Smith and Clayton Holmes, all of whom won three Super Bowls.

3) What strange event happened during the Cowboys' win at Minnesota in the divisional round of the 1975 playoffs?

This was the famed Hail Mary game at Minnesota that saw Roger Staubach connect with Drew Pearson on a 50-yard touchdown pass in the closing seconds to capture the upset victory. But during that play, a fan threw an orange (circled in red) onto the field that Pearson at first thought was a penalty flag. Shortly thereafter, another fan threw a whiskey bottle that hit official Armen Terzian in the head, knocking him out. As bad as that was, the weirdest event occurred two plays before the Hail Mary. Pearson had made a tip-toe catch along the sideline for the first down, but as he laid on the ground, a Vikings security guard ran up and gave him a quick kick in the leg. No matter, despite all the craziness, Dallas got the win, 17-14.

4) What rookie wide receiver and future Pro Football Hall of Famer led the Vikings to victory over the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day 1998? Randy Moss had expected Dallas to select him in the 1998 draft, but although he was available when the team went on the clock at pick No. 8, the Cowboys instead selected defensive end Greg Ellis. Needless to say, Moss wasn't happy, and when these two teams then faced off on Thanksgiving, he enacted his revenge. Sure, he only had three catches in the game, but he totaled 163 receiving yards as all three grabs went for touchdowns in the Vikings' 46-36 win. In truth, Moss never forgave the Cowboys. Over his 14-year NFL career, he went 7-0 against Dallas with 10 touchdown catches and 662 yards.

5) In that same 1998 Thanksgiving matchup, what Cowboys record for a single game did quarterback Troy Aikman set?

The fact that Moss got all the headlines is unfortunate because Aikman had an outstanding game. He completed 34 of 57 pass attempts for 455 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Aikman not only posted a career high for passing yards, which is tied for the sixth-highest mark in franchise history, but he also set a Cowboys record for the most passing attempts without an interception.

6) In the Cowboys' 40-3 trouncing of Minnesota on Nov. 20, 2022, which Dallas running back set a career high with 109 receiving yards?

This was billed as a heavyweight battle between the 7-2 Cowboys and 8-1 Vikings. As it turned out, despite the game being played in Minnesota, the visitors dominated the day. And leading the effort was Tony Pollard, who not only set a new personal mark with 109 receiving yards but also posted a career high with two touchdown catches, including a 68-yarder. In addition, he chipped in another 80 yards rushing, his 189 yards from scrimmage in the game a career high as well.

7) Who scored what turned out to be the winning touchdown by returning a blocked field goal against the Vikings on Oct. 21, 2007?

With the game tied, 14-14, late in the third quarter, Minnesota's Ryan Longwell lined up for a 48-yard field goal attempt. But Cowboys defensive lineman Chris Canty blocked the kick with safety Pat Watkins corralling the ball and racing 68 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Nick Folk then added a 45-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to secure a 24-14 win for Dallas. Watkins' score is still the third-longest field goal return in franchise history.

8) Which former Vikings quarterback threw the most touchdown passes for the Cowboys?

Longtime Eagle Randall Cunningham sits at the top of this list. After a three-year stint in Minnesota, he spent one year with Dallas, throwing six touchdowns in six outings. Overall, five former Vikings quarterbacks later went on to wear the Star, although like Cunningham, none of them made much of an impact. Wade Wilson, who later served as a quarterbacks coach for the team, spent three seasons as a player with the Cowboys but only started one game and had one touchdown throw. Brad Johnson appeared in the most games for Dallas, totaling 32, but managed only two scoring passes while Matt Cassel got into eight games with the Cowboys and totaled five touchdowns. The other quarterback who saw time with both was Brooks Bollinger, who had one touchdown pass in two contests for the Cowboys.

9) This Cowboys rookie returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown against Minnesota during the 1973 NFC Championship Game, the second-longest playoff punt return in franchise history.

Dallas was down 10-0 when wideout Golden Richards got the Cowboys back in the game with a third quarter punt-return touchdown, which marked the first of two he earned during his career (regular season and playoffs). Alas, the momentum was short-lived as the Vikings went on to capture a 27-10 win to advance to Super Bowl VIII.

10) In the Cowboys' first game ever against Minnesota, played on Sept. 24, 1961, this fullback scored two touchdowns to lead Dallas to a 21-7 win. This pitted the NFL's two youngest teams against each other as 1961 was only the second season in franchise history for the Cowboys but the first for the expansion Vikings organization. Halfback Don Perkins rushed for a game-high 108 yards, but it was backfield teammate Amos Marsh who scored two of Dallas' three touchdowns. He initially reached the end zone on a 6-yard run in the first quarter and then capped off the day with a 20-yard catch in the fourth, marking the only game of Marsh's career in which he had both rushing and receiving touchdowns.

11) Which kicker set a Cowboys playoff record with four fields in a 40-15 win over Minnesota in the wild-card round of the 1996 playoffs?

Chris Boniol was busy in this blowout win as not only did he set the club playoff record by making all four of his field goal attempts (good from 28, 31, 22 and 25 yards), but he also converted four extra points. In fact, his 16 points on the day is the fifth-highest total in franchise postseason history. Boniol remains second in Cowboys annals for career field goals made in the playoffs, booting 13 overall through the uprights.

12) True or False: The Cowboys have never played a playoff game on Christmas Day?

False. The Cowboys played at Minnesota on Dec. 25, 1971 in the NFC Divisional round. Despite passing for just 99 yards, the Cowboys forced five turnovers on defense and escaped with a 20-12 win, the first postseason victory en route to winning the franchise's first-ever Super Bowl.

13) Before finishing his career with three seasons each in Cincinnati and Minnesota, this former first-round draft pick of the Cowboys spent nine years in Dallas, where he hauled in 32 interceptions, tied for the seventh most in team history.

Selected by the Cowboys with the fifth overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft, Terence Newman became a mainstay in the team's secondary. The Kansas State product notched at least four interceptions in six of his nine years in Dallas, having topped the squad in that category five times, the most by any player in the 21st century. Runner-up for Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, he would go on to earn two trips to the Pro Bowl while with the Cowboys (2007 and 2009).

4) In his first game against the Cowboys, Randy Moss torched the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day in 1998 with three touchdowns catches. How many total receptions did he have in the game?

Randy Moss only had three catches in the game, but he totaled 163 receiving yards as all three grabs went for touchdowns in the Vikings' 46-36 win. Moss expected Dallas to select him in the 1998 draft, but although he was available when the team went on the clock at pick No. 8, the Cowboys instead selected defensive end Greg Ellis. Needless to say, Moss wasn't happy, and when these two teams then faced off on Thanksgiving, he enacted his revenge. In truth, Moss never forgave the Cowboys. Over his 14-year NFL career, he went 7-0 against Dallas with 10 touchdown catches and 662 yards.

15) Who scored the game-winning touchdown in the Cowboys' 23-17 overtime victory at Minnesota on Sept. 17, 1995?

The sledding had been tough in the first half for Emmitt Smith in this Sunday night showdown as he rushed for just 27 yards on eight carries. His luck changed in the second half, though, when he broke loose for a 45-yard gain and then later scored a touchdown on a 2-yard run. Still, the Cowboys were forced into overtime when the Vikings tied things up with just 44 seconds left in regulation. But on the fifth snap of the extra frame, Smith darted off left guard and raced 31 yards to the end zone. With that, he finished with 150 rushing yards, marking the first time in his career he topped the century mark in the first three games of a season.

16) What player forced two fumbles and had an interception return for a touchdown - all in one half - in a playoff win over the Vikings? George Teague joined the Cowboys in 1996, left the team for one season, only to return with a new number (31) and play four more seasons. But in the 1996 NFC Wild Card round, Teague had a half to remember, forcing two fumbles and getting a Pick-6 touchdown, all in the first half. His first forced fumble was on Vikings RB Amp Lee at the 1-yard line, preventing a touchdown and forcing a touchback. His second fumble, led to an Emmitt Smith touchdown on the next play. And on the next drive, Teague picked off Brad Johnson and returned it for a touchdown in a 40-15 win over the Vikings.

17) The Cowboys have had only six 300-yard passing games against the Vikings in franchise history. Who was the last player to accomplish that feat? Making his first NFL start for an injured Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush lit up the Vikings on Sunday Night Football in Minnesota. Rush threw for 324 yards and 2 TDs in a 20-16 win, extending the Cowboys' win streak that year to six straight games. It was Rush's only start for that season.

18) Who is the oldest Cowboys quarterback to pass for 350 yards in a game?

In the 2004 season opener, 40-year-old Vinny Testaverde passed for 355 passing yards against the Vikings. Minnesota won the game, 35-17. Testaverde was named the starter after the Cowboys surprisingly cut Quincy Carter in training camp a few weeks earlier. Testaverde played 21 seasons with seven different teams, but just the one year in Dallas.

19) Who scored the game-winning touchdown pass from Tony Romo to defeat the Vikings in 2013 - the last win over Minnesota at AT&T Stadium? With a last-minute drive, Romo found Dwayne Harris over the middle for a 7-yard touchdown to give Dallas the 27-23 win over the Vikings.

20) Who is the only head coach in Cowboys history to coach their last game with the team against the Vikings?

Chan Gailey coached just two seasons in Dallas and was fired after the 1999 season. The Cowboys went 8-8 but made it into the playoffs as a Wild Card. Dallas lost to Minnesota, which turned out to be Gailey's last game. He's the only full-time head coach to have less than three seasons in Cowboys history.