Cowboys vs. Vikings: Full Report Card Grades for Dallas
Four games in 18 days. That's what the Dallas Cowboys have endured in the past two-and-a-half weeks. In that span, the team won all four games. That's the type of team the Cowboys have in 2016. It is a true testament to the toughness of this team, and it all starts with the man at the top and that is Jason Garrett.
Both the Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings played on Thanksgiving last week against divisional opponents, with the Cowboys picking up a nice win and the Vikings losing in heartbreaking fashion. The Cowboys knew that they were going to get a big effort from the Vikings. Though the Vikings are 6-6 now, their 5-0 start to the season shows they are much better than their current record states.
This game had the look of an ugly one from the get-go. The Cowboys' first series went for just four plays for 14 yards and Minnesota reciprocated with a punt of its own. Dallas responded with another punt before the Vikings finally put points on the board with 2:33 left in the first quarter on a Kai Forbath 48-yard field goal.
The Cowboys got their first points of the game on an eight-play, 84-yard drive that would not have happened if it weren't for a deep pass to Dez Bryant. Against free coverage, Bryant made a double-move that forced free safety Harrison Smith to bite on the in pattern. Bryant got free past the defensive backfield and Dak Prescott hit Bryant for a 56-yard gain. The following play resulted in a one-yard touchdown run for Ezekiel Elliott.
The Cowboys went into the half with a 7-3 lead.
The second half started with two punts, but the Vikings then drove down the field to grab another field goal, cutting the lead to 7-6. The Cowboys had a chance to change the complexion of the game with a lengthy drive, but Vikings star defensive end Brian Robison beat Doug Free around the edge to force a strip-fumble. Minnesota recovered and took over deep in Cowboys territory.
Despite that, the Vikings ended up settling for another field goal but held a 9-7 advantage. A few drives later, the Cowboys were forced to punt. At that point in the game, it looked as if the Cowboys were going to suffer their second loss of the season.
Instead, recently promoted Vince Mayle forced a fumble and Kyle Wilber recovered the ball deep in the Vikings territory. On the next play, Prescott hooked up with Dez Bryant for a touchdown pass after a nice catch-and-run from Bryant.
The next Cowboys drive saw Dan Bailey knock down a 39-yard field goal to give Dallas a 17-9 lead. The Vikings were still down by eight when they got the ball back with just over two minutes to go with no timeouts.
The Vikings waltzed down the field in an eight-play, 65-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown reception to Jerick McKinnon. But because they were still trailing by two, the Vikings needed a two-point conversion to send the game into overtime. With just two yards to go to tie the game, a false start penalty pushed the Vikings back before pressure on Sam Bradford saw his pass sail to the back of the end zone.
A Minnesota onside kick attempt with 25 seconds left failed when Jason Witten smothered the ball to give the Cowboys the win.
Read on for full grades and analysis from the Cowboys' 11th consecutive win of the season.
Passing Offense
1 of 6
Against one of the best defenses in football, it was expected that rookie quarterback Dak Prescott was going to struggle in this game. The loud crowd kept the offensive line out of sync and that led to pressure that effected Prescott's mental clock. Regardless, it takes a lot of resiliency to overcome adversity, especially in a game like this, and Prescott answered the call.
Prescott finished this game with 12-of-18 completions for 139 yards and a touchdown. He also added 37 yards on the ground, all of which came on scrambles and not designed runs. Looking at the statistics, this was by far Prescott's ugliest performance, but penalties and the impact of the Vikings defense kept the Cowboys offense from getting going.
In a game where the Cowboys had to claw and fight, Prescott's poise was still on full display in this game. He once again managed to walk away with a victory, and that is the only thing that matters at the end of the day for both the Cowboys and Prescott.
Grade: B-
Rushing Offense
2 of 6
Similar to the situation with Prescott, this game was going to be a difficult one for Elliott. The Vikings were starving for a win, and at home in a playoff atmosphere during primetime, the Cowboys weren't expected to run over the opposition in this one, literally and figuratively.
Nevertheless, Elliott once again had a productive performance in Week 13. He finished with just 86 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries and added just about 20 yards through the air as well. It's worth noting that Elliott would've had around 70 more yards had it not been for a questionable holding call on Doug Free.
Something that also does not come up in the stat book is Elliott's ability in the pass-protection department. Against a spectacular front seven, the Vikings brought pressure all game, and Elliott was consistently asked upon to block. Outside of a holding call that eliminated a first-down conversion, Elliott was terrific in this game.
Grade: B-
Passing Defense
3 of 6
Going up against a less-than-spectacular quarterback in Sam Bradford, as well as an offensive line that is among the worst in football, this was the game where the Cowboys defense responded. Outside of the touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys only gave up three field goals in this game.
Getting Barry Church back helped the secondary drastically, and on the defensive line, DeMarcus Lawrence had by far and away his best game of the season. The statistical production isn't there, but he was consistently providing pressure off the edge. This was the perfect game for Lawrence to find his groove and get back on track.
Bradford's day wasn't horrible, but it wasn't exactly great either. The former Philadelphia Eagle completed 32-of-45 for 247 yards and a touchdown. Dallas gave up a combined 15 receptions for 145 yards to the receiving duo of Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen. After a rough performance last week, the Cowboys responded in a big way this week, and it also helps knowing that Morris Claiborne should be back before the end of the season.
Grade: A
Rushing Defense
4 of 6
Because of Minnesota's problems with their offensive line and the fact that they have been without Adrian Peterson for quite some time, the Vikings do not boast a threatening running game. In this game, Minnesota rushed for 87 yards on 19 carries. Most notably, Jerick McKinnon had 41 rushing yards on nine carries and Matt Asiata had 30 rushing yards on six carries.
Dallas has been successful against the run all season, and the reason why is because they are so good at keeping teams out of rhythm. The Cowboys dominate in the time-of-possession battle. But in this game, they struggled to keep drives going and score points. But that didn't keep the Cowboys rushing defense from giving up big plays.
Grade: A
Special Teams
5 of 6
After watching the Cowboys special teams unit all season, it's clear that the individual performances of Dan Bailey and Chris Jones have been incredible. Sure there are some gaffes at times, but the Cowboys unit is overall a good one. But when you compare this unit to the Vikings special teams unit, the differences are night and day.
Minnesota looked lost in this department all night long. Punter Jeff Locke was horrendous for the entire night, and the Vikings have had their problems all season long at kicker. But the biggest problem for the Vikings in this game was the fumbled punt from Adam Thielen.
The Cowboys cashed in on a huge opportunity thanks to huge play from Vince Mayle, and in a game where the Cowboys struggled to move the ball, this turnover gave way for the Cowboys to score a much-needed touchdown late in the game. Also, Chris Jones was excellent in this game. The Cowboys average three punts per game, but in this game, Jones had six punts for 277 yards, an average of 46 yards per punt, while Locke averaged just 32 yards per punt.
Grade: A
Coaching
6 of 6
Again, great teams win ugly football. It takes a coach with a true presence to weather the storm through times of adversity and that's what Jason Garrett did in this game. Despite penalties that held back long runs and field-switching interceptions, Garrett's bunch found a way to win in this game.
Despite being on a losing streak, the Vikings are an extremely well-coached football team. They have a ton of talent on defense, and while their offense is questionable, the Cowboys still needed to find a way to get all the points they could in this game. It may have taken a fumble on a punt, but the Cowboys squeezed out just enough plays to win this game.
The Cowboys have now won four games in 18 days. Two of those four wins have come against top-five offenses and the other two have come against top-five defenses. Jason Garrett is the Coach of the Year front-runner and it really isn't close.
Grade: A+
Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @RyanRattyNFL. I'm always willing to talk football.
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