Cowboys at Vikings score, takeaways: Dallas swallows Kirk Cousins, Tony Pollard

The Vikings entered Week 11 with a chance to unseat the Eagles as the current No. 1 seed in the NFC. Instead, they were utterly battered by Philadelphia’s NFC East rival. Hosting the Cowboys as home underdogs, Minnesota proved incapable of even making Sunday’s showdown a competition — so much so that CBS booted them in exchange for another broadcast with an entire quarter to play. Kirk Cousins was uncomfortable from start to finish as Micah Parsons headlined a ferocious Dallas pass rush, and Tony Pollard exploded as the Cowboys’ lead ball-carrier, helping “America’s Team” to a 40-3 blowout in Minneapolis.

The Vikings’ dismantling comes just a week after Kevin O’Connell’s squad upset the explosive Bills on the road, and a week after the Cowboys fell to the slumping Packers by blowing a huge lead. Now, Dallas might be the more formidable foe in the conference, with every side of the ball showing up to stun Minnesota’s home crowd.

Here are some additional takeaways from Sunday’s Cowboys blowout:

Why the Cowboys won

They did everything right. Seriously. Let’s start on offense: Mike McCarthy and Kellen Moore wisely leaned more on the speedy Tony Pollard than Ezekiel Elliott, even with the latter back from a knee injury, and it paid off, with Pollard breaking off early first-down runs and all but burying Minnesota with his 68-yard catch-and-sprint touchdown past Jordan Hicks in the third. Dak Prescott was uber-efficient after an unusually erratic day against Green Bay in Week 10, hitting each of his top three wideouts — CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, Noah Brown — for clutch chain-movers.

Special teams got an MVP outing from Brett Maher, who hit all four field goal tries, including a 60-yarder he was required to boot twice because of an official review. And the defense? Oh boy did it come alive after getting gashed the week prior. Micah Parsons returned to terrorizing form with two sacks and five QB hits, Dorance Armstrong was just as dominant, and the entire front had its way against a battered Vikings front, handing Cousins more pressure than he’s ever faced in his NFL career. Trevon Diggs feasted on the front-seven dominance, easily rendering Justin Jefferson a near-nonfactor downfield.

Why the Vikings lost

They could not protect Kirk Cousins. Left tackle Christian Darrisaw was victimized early, but it was his departure with a concussion that really ruined the trenches, leaving backup Blake Brandel to fight against Parsons and a persistent Dallas front. Cousins simply had no time to either read the field, let playmakers like Jefferson emerge deep, or establish a rhythm beyond a play or two. T.J. Hockenson was a steady safety valve, but his prominent role emphasized how much Cousins was forced to dink and dunk, given that he rarely had a clean pocket to connect with his outside targets. Dalvin Cook was explosive with the ball in his hands as usual, but he too was a total ghost in the passing game.

Defensively, Minnesota also had major issues. A lack of linebacker speed doomed them trying to contain Pollard out of the backfield, and cornerback Patrick Peterson, who’s made recent headlines for a turnover-happy resurgence, routinely fell behind his men downfield. The pass rush, meanwhile, didn’t show up at all, even with Za’Darius Smith active opposite Danielle Hunter; their front managed just a single QB hit on Prescott.

Turning point

If it wasn’t Dak’s last-minute dart to Lamb near the end of the second quarter, which confirmed Dallas was doing whatever it wanted against Minnesota’s secondary, it was Maher’s succession of 60-yard field goals — the first reversed by a delayed official review, and the second right down the pipe to give the Cowboys a 20-point lead going into halftime. At that point, all the momentum rested in Dallas’ hands, and the Vikings had yet to show any sustained offensive life.

Play of the game

Tony Pollard’s big plays were certainly highlights, as was Brett Maher’s 60-yard kick, but Dak’s timely bullet to CeeDee Lamb at the end of the first half was the best snap in terms of both aesthetics and importance. Prescott couldn’t have put the ball in a better place while airing it out on the move, and Lamb laid out at just the right time to make the sideline grab.

What’s next

The Cowboys (7-3) will be back in action on Thanksgiving, when they’ll host the rival Giants (7-3), who got routed by the Lions at home on Sunday. The Vikings (8-2), meanwhile, will also return to prime time for the holidays, hosting the Patriots (6-4) on Thursday night after New England edged the Jets in Week 11.