Cowboys at Vikings: 3 things we learned

This is the type of football Dallas has to be able to win if they want to win the Super Bowl.

At 11-1, this is the NFL’s best team and one that could become the first to clinch a playoff spot, as early as Sunday, with a little help.

It was a hard fought win for the Cowboys. Given what we’ve seen from Prescott this season, his next outing should be a bounce back performance from the young QB. But the Vikings played a stellar defensive game that had the footprints of Zimmer all over the game plan. Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott didn’t get this memo. Prescott has thrown for 18 touchdowns and rushed for five more in his 11 career National Football League starts, while committing just two turnovers. Vikings are 5-7 against the Cowboys at home in the regular season, but this is the first meeting at new U.S. Bank Stadium. That drive ended with a Lucky Whitehead fumble.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Dez Bryant sashayed through the Dallas locker room with an unmistakable swagger and had nothing but good things to say about his adversary this time around.

The score was 17-15 and the Vikings missed it’s 2-pt conversion. They hit huge on first round pick Ezekiel Elliott, and fourth round pick Dak Prescott, and their defense has shown some life. For once, the defense stepped up and had the offense’s back.

If Friday’s game proved anything, it’s that something needs to change. When you come into buildings and you’ve got a nine-, ten-, eleven-game winning streaks everyone’s gunning for you especially when you’re in you’re house, night game, national television, stuff like that.

The next Cowboys drive saw Dan Bailey knock down a 39-yard field goal to give Dallas a 17-9 lead. Minnesota held them to season lows and well under their game averages in first downs, points and yards. Luckily, the Cowboys stopped the two-point conversion attempt and held on to win the game. The most important play at the end of the game had a missed call, so it has called into question the entire game. The Vikings were still down by eight when they got the ball back with just over two minutes to go with no timeouts. Adam Thielen took the punt at the 11 and then fumbled the ball. He chipped in four catches for 19 more yards, and scored his 12th touchdown of the season on a one-yard plunge.

The Minnesota Vikings were facing the Dallas Cowboys’ dynamic duo of NFL rookies in Dak Prescott, the fourth-highest rated passer in the league, and Ezekiel Elliott, the NFL’s leading rusher.

Officials originally ruled Thielen down, but as Wilber went to the sidelines Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett asked Wilber if the thought he got it out. “Looks to me like I’ve got my work cut out for me with special teams but if Rick and coach Zimmer think we need another week for him to keep healing then obviously I would love to do it”.

The Dallas Cowboys are now 11-1 and get 10 days to prepare for the New York Giants on Sunday night, December 11. However, should they go into NY and put away the Giants, they’ll clinch the division crown with three games left in the season.

One year later, former Vikings punter Chris Kluwe posted a scathing essay on Deadspin.com accusing Priefer of making anti-gay comments toward Kluwe while he was still on the team as a way of goading him for his gay rights advocacy.