Dallas Cowboys' Penalties and Turnovers Lead to Minnesota Vikings Win

Today’s game was considered by many to be a must win game for both the Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys. Despite playing with banged up quarterback Brett Favre, the Vikings edged the penalty-prone Cowboys 24-21 at the Metrodome on Sunday.

In the first quarter the questions about Cowboys running back Marion Barber were answered as the first three plays of the game for the Cowboys were rushing plays.  The Cowboys achieved one first down on their first possession, and then the drive stalled. 

On the Vikings first series of the game, quarterback Brett Favre showed no signs of the tendinitis in his elbow as he completed his first pass of the game to wide receiver Percy Harvin.  Favre followed this pass with a short dump off to recently acquire from the New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss. 

On the ensuing play, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson fumbled the ball.  Brett Favre placed the ball right in Peterson’s stomach, but the running back never got his hands on it.  Because it was a miscue in the execution of the hand off the quarterback was charged with the fumble, Favre’s 11th of the season.

The Cowboys capitalized off this fumble with eight plays, 40-yard drive that took 4:06. Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo threw a fifteen-yard pass to wide receiver Roy Williams who caught it in the end zone for the first score of the game. After the play the Cowboys received a unsportsman like conduct penalty as wide receiver Miles Austin hurtled over Roy Williams' head in the end zone. 

On the kickoff, kicker David Buehler sent the kick flying out of bounds setting up the Vikings with great field position.  The Vikings could not take advantage of the field position and ended the series three and out.  The Cowboys received the ball again and complete two first downs.  Then on 3rd-and-3 quarterback Tony Romo threw an interception.  The Vikings promptly drove down the field.  Quarterback Brett Favre threw a 10-yard pass to wide receiver Greg Camarillo, tying the game 7-7.

During the second quarter, one of the critical mistakes Dallas made happened midway through the second quarter.  Wide receiver Miles Austin was flagged for pass interference on what would have been a 68-yard touchdown catch and run, when his one-handed shove of Asher Allen sent the Vikings cornerback straight into the Metrodome turf.

Despite six penalties amassing 63-yards, quarterback Tony Romo completed his second touchdown pass to wide receiver Roy Williams giving the Cowboys a 14-7 lead with 29 seconds left in the half.  The Cowboys out gained the Vikings 190-60 yards to end the half.  As the Vikings left the field after running out the final seconds of the half, the Metrodome erupted in a course of boos from the Vikings faithful.

The second half of the game began with a bang.  Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin returned kicker David Buehler’s kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to tie the game 14-14.  The Vikings dominated the third quarter sending the Cowboys three and out on two consecutive series. 

The Cowboys defense pressured Vikings quarterback Brett Favre all game long.  Twice in the third quarter Favre was slow to get up off the ground. Despite only being sacked three times, Favre was slammed into the turf on several occasions.  Despite the pain in his throwing arm and the Cowboys’ pressure, Favre didn’t throw a single interception.  The Vikings ran the ball the majority of plays in the quarter and finished the quarter with a one-yard touchdown run by Adrian Peterson.  The Vikings took their first lead of the game here with a score of 21-14.

In the fourth quarter the Cowboys started to show signs of life.  Quarterback Tony Romo completed a 31-yard pass to rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant.  After Bryant’s touchdown wide receiver Miles Austin calmly came over and shook Bryant’s hand to avoid another unnecessary penalty.

With 4:03 left, Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell booted a 38-yard field goal attempt giving the Vikings a 24-21 lead.  The Cowboys never could get a drive going.  On the last play of the game they attempted a wild and crazy passing play that included several lateral and backwards passes to move the ball down the field.  The long lasting play was a last ditch effort that chewed up the final 13 seconds on the clock. 

The play wasn’t successful as quarterback Tony Romo threw a forward pass to wide receiver Miles Austin during the chaos.  Flags flew but the Cowboys kept trying and the officials allowed the play to continue.  Eventually the ball hit the ground and the game was declared over.

The Cowboys are now 1-4 and are three games behind in the NFC East, leaving many to wonder if reaching the postseason is even realistic at this point.  Penalties are still an issue for this Cowboys team.  They had 11 penalties for a total of 91 yards.  The Vikings played as solid a football game as you can ask for as they only turned the ball over once and recorded two interceptions. 

Quarterback Favre was 14-for-19 for 118 yards and a touchdown.  This was his first game of the season with no interceptions. 

The Cowboys mistakes helped the Vikings to the win today by giving them several chunks of yardage and first downs.  The Vikings only amassed 188 total yards compared to the Cowboys 314. 

However, the Cowboys won over the Vikings in nearly every stat category except the one that counted. This has been the case for the Cowboys team all season long.  At the end of the day the Vikings owned the only stat that really matters, the score.  The Vikings advance 2-4 and send the Cowboys to 1-4 as they claim the victory 24-21.

Rachel Trimm is a Jabberhead, blogger, and SJ Contributing Author. Read more of her work here.

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