Cowboys beat Vikings 31-28 to halt skid.
Dalton returns to breathe new life into Dallas’ NFC East hopes
ARLINGTON — In his third start for the Cowboys, Andy Dalton was searching for something better. Of course, after seeing his team outscored 63-13 by Arizona and Washington and throwing three interceptions to one touchdown, “better'' wasn't going to require a heck of a lot.
But his final pass of the day hit a wide-open Dalton Schultz in the Minnesota end zone just a handful of plays before Kirk Cousins' final pass fell incomplete, allowing Dallas to grab a surprising 31-28 victory over the Vikings in Minneapolis.
It was the first win for Dallas in more than a month, the first road win of the season and yet somehow it elevated the Cowboys smack into the thick of the NFC East “race.” The 3-7
Cowboys play the 3-7 Washington Football Team at AT&T Stadium on Thursday, and the winner will be the first division team to four wins, momentarily tied (basically) with the stumbling 3-6-1 Philadelphia
Eagles.
“Frankly, there's a lot of games left to be played,” head coach Mike McCarthy said. “We need to build off this win for it to mean something.”
In other words, Dalton, who was initially the second of four Cowboys quarterbacks to start a game this season, needs to outplay Alex Smith, who is the third Washington quarterback to start in 2020. It's that kind of year, and the Cowboys knew that Washington had won and that Philadelphia had lost when they took the field, but it was all about putting a decent performance together and having it count.
It came close to meaning the same old thing when the Vikings' offense — limited to one touchdown as Dallas grabbed a 16-7 halftime lead — exploded for three touchdowns in the second half as
Cousins piled up more than 300 yards passing for the day. But like so many NFL games, this was all about how you finished.
On his last drive, Dalton completed 5 of 7 passes for 37 yards including an enormous fourthand-6 pass to Amari Cooper for 10 yards prior to the go-ahead touchdown. Cousins, who had the superior totals for the day and was 21 for 24 at one point, completed one of his last six passes.
“When we needed to make a play today, we were able to make it,'' Dalton said. “We were in good position on the last drive, and it came down to a fourth down we had to convert. Then on a great play design, Dalton was wide open for the touchdown. You've just gotta get it to him at that point.''
There might come a time when a victory over the Vikings won't seem like such a big deal. In fact, Minnesota is 4-6 and has less of a chance to reach the playoffs than the 3-7 Cowboys possess. But there was a looming question of whether or not the Cowboys' 24-19 loss to Pittsburgh — a moral victory if you will — was a mirage. The Steelers are
10-0, so the fact they found themselves trailing Dallas into the final minutes two weeks ago meant...what exactly?
Sunday, the Cowboys showed
the same willingness to do battle, even if they remain shorthanded in key areas. They don't blow holes wide open as they did when their offensive line was the
best, but they gave the running game a chance Sunday. Zeke Elliott and Tony Pollard responded with 163 yards. They do have holes in the secondary as Adam
Thielen exploited, but Dallas stymied the Vikings' receivers at the end, and safety Donovan Wilson produced two huge turnovers to give Dallas the early lead.
And Dalton isn't Dak Prescott by any means, but there were people thinking Dalton isn't even Garrett Gilbert and at least that nonsense was erased. Dalton missed a few throws, but he also had Michael Gallup lose two balls trying to catch with his chest. CeeDee Lamb was even willing to give Dalton credit for his touchdown toss in the first quarter although, to most humans, it looked like a crazily impressive adjustment by Lamb produced the points.
After never really finding his rhythm against Arizona, then literally getting knocked out of the game in Washington — Dalton even threw in a bout with COVID-19 while he was out — the veteran from TCU hit 22 of 32 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns.
It gave Dallas life in the NFC East and, while that registers as the ultimate in faint praise, it's the only race the Cowboys have to compete in for 2020.
It's all about Washington coming to town now. For both teams, that's the true definition of giving thanks.