The Cowboys return for the second year in a row to the venue of the peppery Mike Zimmer and with the best offense in the league, Mike McCarthy returns for his privileges before a well-known public.
Last season the Cowboys visited these same Vikings and were victorious at 31-28 with Andy Dalton leading the offense, connecting with Dalton Schultz with just 1:37 left on the game clock.
For McCarthy, returning to Minneapolis has to bring back many memories considering that from 2006 to 2018 as head coach of the Packers they were reciprocal visits between divisional rivals, accumulating several confrontations against the same helmsman of the hosts.
For this match the Cowboys (5-1) arrive as the definitive leaders of their own division while for the Vikings (3-3) it is vital to keep pace with the Packers (7-1) who took the Cardinals undefeated in the desert with an emotional victory with a final score of 24-21 with an interception in the diagonals defended from the visitors with just a few seconds.
The Cowboys come in as the number one offense in the league, two running the ball and the fifth throwing the stone. The problem is on the other side of the ball, being 28 before the pass in order to find a way to avoid these big plays. The Vikings are the 26th carry defense, and as the Elliott / Pollard duo are running the ball this is a real focus of attention.
Doubt is the health of Dak Prescott, after injuring himself in a more than mysterious way on the last play in the overtime win at New England. For his part, Kirk Cousins was able to guide his team two weeks ago with his own overtime victory in Carolina.
Cousins commands the offense number five total, eighth running the ball and sixth when darning the air.
Certainly his present record is not indicative of the quality of his team, falling 34-33 at Arizona, 27-24 at Cincinnati and 14-7 at home to the Cleveland Browns for their three losses. Add to that the fact that Zimmer appears to be in the hot seat to add even more flavor to this rivalry where the Cowboys have a 13-12 lead, winning three of the last four confrontations.
Seeking to extend its divisional hegemony, I pass on my 5 Keys to the Game for this eighth day.
Key 1. The calf also plays. During the bye week McCarthy and Dak Prescott dedicated themselves to caring for the team leader’s recently injured. The big mystery is how bad or not this Prescott sprain is, and seeing as he practiced on a limited basis during the week there is sure to be some consideration. Just as his shoulder was the doubt in Tampa in the opening game, because now it will be until Sunday night that the condition of the cowboy quarterback will be revealed, being the determining factor that suddenly makes Cooper Rush warm. Being under this intense magnifying glass when kicking off and being a blink away from having to make a decision that would not only affect this particular game but the rest of the regular season again makes this soap opera irresistible.
Key 2. There is leather dressed in purple. Unlike the Cowboys, the opposing quarterback arrives in full capacity. Cousins is having a good time, and he has a reliable offensive line that kept him on his feet throughout the game against Carolina, who entered the game as the number one defense in the league. In that game he excelled with 33-48 for 373 yards and three touchdowns, where the star Adam Thielen had 11 receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown also relying on Justin Jefferson’s 8 receptions for 80 yards. His offensive record includes a Dalvin Cook, who served with the big spoon with 29 carries for 140 yards with a touchdown, being the workhorse where his second and swerve Alexander Mattison only had three carries for 10 yards. Here is the front of the Cowboys that will be forced to reach Cousins because if that cowgirl defense does not do it before the pass with a healthy running game of the Vikings could be the end.
Key 3. Musical chairs. With the return of La’el Collins there is the question of who will line up and where among the offensive linemen. With Terrence Steele’s game being a positive focus and the already deafening campaign against left guard Connor Williams, there was talk of the possibility of seeing Collins fill Williams’ spot. Again, it’s about having the best elements on the line of scrimmage, and for McCarthy this could be the formula, and there was even talk of seeing Collins in replays with the first team from both angles. There is the same probability, according to those of us on this side of the backstage, who feel Steele, return Collins to left tackle and continue with Connor Williams as left guard, a position he has occupied from start to finish during 2020 and so. going into 2021. The positive is that there will be a real solid replacement in Steele at tackle and would continue to have Conner McGovern as reserve guard and wild card in the Kellen Moore jumbo packs.
Key 4. Let him continue to kill her. Everything seems to indicate that Prescott if he lines up and surely part of Moore’s scheme will be to keep him in the bag of protection with fast shipments with his excellent air arsenal, but more than looking to throw the ball it will be the watchword to establish the running game. Again it is the dynamic duo in Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard who can give Prescott the peace of mind of not having to throw fifty-odd passes and thus not risk worsening the pseudo calf injury. This involves controlling the line of scrimmage against a Daniel Hunter and his six sacks, who together with Everson Griffen and veteran Eric Kendricks are sure to attack the quarterback with the bucket looking to increase his already 21 sacks in six games.
Key 5. A kick for victory. With the task of running the ball on the part of both teams, a sketch marker could be expected, where the coin is in the air at the time of the two-minute break in the fourth quarter. For the Cowboys, Greg Zeurline has been able to reestablish himself as a reliable kicker, with his 12 hits in 15 chances, going 7-8 from 30-39 yards and 3-3 from 40-49 yards. For his part, South African Greg Joseph comes to the Vikings after being with Miami, Cleveland, Carolina, Tennessee and Tampa Bay. So far their 13 hits in 17 attempts include both a failed one in Arizona that would have given them victory and another connected to Detroit to lift him up in celebration. Their numbers reveal inconsistency, being 4-5 of 30-39 yards, 5-6 of 50+ yards, but 1-3 of 40-49 yards. With a closed game in search of controlling the clock, each approach that pays off in three points will be vital and with the game in between, it will be one of these two protagonists who will put the seal on an important victory.
