Cowboys vs. Vikings: Score and Twitter Reaction for Thursday Night Football

The Dallas Cowboys have dominated the 2016 season behind rookie quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott, but the defense set the tone Thursday during a 17-15 victory over the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The Cowboys didn't allow a touchdown until the final minute of the game, held strong on the potential game-tying two-point conversion and consistently pressured Vikings signal-caller Sam Bradford to move to 11-1 on the year.

Dallas hasn't lost since the season opener against the New York Giants and is undefeated on the road.

Minnesota dropped to 6-6 after a 5-0 start but had a gripe on the two-point attempt in the final minute, when Dallas appeared to hit Bradford high on his incomplete pass.

"Should have been a penalty," Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus tweeted. "Refs missed it badly."

Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram noted it was business as usual for the Dallas defense:

While he didn't complete the two-point attempt, Bradford finished with 247 passing yards and a touchdown. He carried the load for the Vikings offense, considering no running back tallied more than 41 yards on the ground.

The Vikings were also playing without head coach Mike Zimmer. The team announced he underwent emergency eye surgery Wednesday, and special teams coordinator Mike Priefer served as the interim head coach.

On the other side, Prescott threw for just 139 yards and a touchdown, although he added 37 yards on the ground. Elliott finished with 86 rushing yards, 19 receiving yards and a touchdown, while Dez Bryant led the team with 84 receiving yards and a score.

Tight end Jason Witten didn't record a single catch, and NFL on CBS underscored how long it has been since that occurred:

While Dallas is loaded with offensive playmakers, the Vikings defense nearly made the first big play of the game. Anthony Barr stripped Elliott and appeared to recover the fumble inside the Cowboys' 20-yard line, but a replay review revealed Elliott recovered it.

Minnesota still received favorable field position after a stop at its 37-yard line and took advantage with a 48-yard field goal by Kai Forbath.

The Vikings caught a break on the ensuing possession, when a 43-yard run by Elliott was called back for holding, but they capitalized on it with a turnover. Everson Griffen jarred the ball loose from Lucky Whitehead, and Eric Kendricks pounced on it.

David Helman of the Cowboys' official website noted fumble issues have been rare for the team:

Minnesota didn't score, and the Dallas offense finally woke up thanks to Prescott. The quarterback scrambled for 14 yards on 3rd-and-13 and then found Bryant for 56 yards to set up a one-yard score by Elliott.

NFL Network shared a replay of the beautifully placed deep ball:

It was the Ohio State product's 12th rushing touchdown of the season, which tied Tony Dorsett and Herschel Walker for the Cowboys' rookie record, per Pat Doney of NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.

Dallas took a 7-3 lead into the locker room at halftime, but Minnesota had graver concerns. Bradford absorbed a hard hit near the ribs, forcing him to leave before halftime, and Louis Riddick of ESPN blamed the Vikings' offensive line woes:

Fortunately for the Vikings, Bradford started the second half. While he scrambled for a first down on his first possession back, he took a few more hits before Minnesota ultimately punted.

Even with Bradford somewhat limited, the Cowboys couldn't create separation thanks to costly penalties, as David Moore of the Dallas Morning News illustrated:

Still within striking distance, the Vikings offense generated momentum with a couple of first downs but settled for a field goal in the red zone. Kyle Rudolph failed to haul in a catchable pass that would have been a touchdown, but Forbath trimmed the deficit to 7-6.

The Vikings defense made another timely play on the next possession, when Brian Robison exploded past Doug Free on the edge and stripped Prescott in the pocket. Griffen jumped on it and gave the Minnesota offense the ball in the red zone.

"So sick of this 'The Cowboys' whole OL is the MVP!' thing," Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk tweeted. "If you give a share of an MVP vote to Doug Free..."

SNF on NBC shared footage of the play:

Minnesota settled for another field goal, as Forbath hit the right upright but still converted.

Another penalty hurt Dallas when a potential third-down conversion in Minnesota territory was called back for holding. Prescott was sacked on the next play, which forced a punt.

Doney reflected on the momentum-killing flag:

The punt played into Dallas' favor, though, as Adam Thielen coughed up the ball on the return and gave the visitors possession inside the 10-yard line. Prescott threw a quick pass to Bryant on the next play, and the receiver froze Xavier Rhodes before running it in for a score.

"That was basically Dez saying 'I'm a better athlete than you,'" Albert Breer of The MMQB tweeted.

NFL on ESPN pointed out it was a notable touchdown:

The Cowboys defense forced another punt, and Dan Bailey extended the lead to 17-9 with a field goal.

Dallas got the ball back after another Vikings punt, and Prescott nearly picked up a critical first down with his legs on 2nd-and-9 and stayed in bounds, which impressed Helman:

However, he fumbled the third-down snap, forcing Dallas to punt, and the Vikings got one final chance in the closing minutes.

Bradford completed a handful of short passes to lead Minnesota inside the Dallas 10-yard line, and an offside penalty by Jack Crawford moved the ball to the 3-yard line. That's when Bradford found Jerick McKinnon for the score, but Jeremiah Sirles committed a false start on the two-point conversion.

Pushed back to the 7-yard line, Bradford sailed his pass out of the end zone. Dallas caught a break when the officials didn't call the high hit on Bradford, as Tom Pelissero of USA Today pointed out:

Dallas recovered the onside kick and clinched its 11th win of the season.

Postgame Reaction

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett discussed the win, per Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram: "I thought our defense did a fantastic job keeping the score down. … It was a hard-fought battle. It wasn’t our prettiest performance on offense."

On the other side, the Vikings weren't pleased with the officiating.

According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, "Robison said Cowboys were holding constantly. Said he talked to refs, not worried about being fined."

Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune noted Robison said, "Welp, I'm probably getting fined."

Ben Goessling of ESPN.com shared Bradford's take on the two-point conversion: "Bradford said officials told him he did not get hit in the face mask on the two-point conversion at the end of the game. Bradford said he was hoping for a call on the play, but he obviously didn't get one."

Priefer reflected on the coaching situation, per Vensel: "Priefer said he hopes Zimmer will be back next week, but if needed to coach at JAX, 'I would love to do it. I would be honored to do it.'"

What's Next?

Next up for the Cowboys is a road game against the Giants on Dec. 11, which gives Dallas a chance to avenge its lone loss of the season and essentially end any drama in the NFC East.

The Vikings have a stretch of winnable games to close the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. Those four opponents are a combined 14-30 on the campaign, so the playoffs are still in play for Minnesota if it takes care of business.