Man, what a rush! The Dallas Cowboys are about to fly up north to face the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday Night Football and will land with a 10-win streak in their sails. The season is far from over, and 10 wins don’t mean much unless they last through February, but it’s sure been an exciting one so far. And the Cowboys look like the team to beat to take the NFC East.
And now the 10-1 Cowboys have another potentially tough match-up with the 6-5 Vikings. Not exactly what they once were, the Vikings managed to go 5-0 to start the season, and that was without their franchise quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and oft-league rushing leader Adrian Peterson. The Vikes fell back down to earth against the Eagles, hitting a losing skid until a recent win finally went their way, so it’s a bit of a toss-up which Vikings team the Cowboys will see tomorrow.
While Dallas may lead the all-time series between the two teams, the Vikings have managed to upset the Cowboys in seven of their last nine meetings, including a playoff game that featured Tony Romo running for his life and former Green Bay Packers QB, Brett Favre in Purple And Gold. This will be the 30th time these teams have played one another, and Dallas leads by one win.
So what about the writers here at Inside The Star… what do they think of this week’s TNF match-up?
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Kevin Brady | @Kevinbrady88
Before the season, I had this penciled in as a loss.
Five weeks into the season, I thought this game could decide the number one seed in the NFC.
Now, the Cowboys and Vikings are going in totally different directions, and I think that’ll show on Thursday night. The game remains close for three and a half quarters before the Cowboys’ offense becomes too much, and they win their 11th straight game.
Cowboys 30 – Vikings 21
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Ian Koplowitz | @BleedingTheStar
The Vikings started this season with a fantastic defense but have since regressed, their weakest link being the run defense. I like us to keep the Ezekiel Express rolling and ride it to an 11-1 record.
It’ll be nice to get Barry Church back this week, especially with JJ Wilcox likely to be out. At this point, getting Mo Claiborne back is, to me, the only essential piece missing to make a deep playoff run.
Cowboys 31 – Vikings 17
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John Williams | @John9williams
This week is yet another battle of strengths as the Dallas Cowboys offense faces another tough match-up with the Minnesota Vikings defense.
It’s unlikely that the Vikings offense is going to be good enough to take advantage of the missing personnel in the Dallas secondary like — Washington and Pittsburgh did — and their running game hasn’t looked very good in 2016.
I see Dallas dominating this one on the ground, leaving little time for the Vikings to put up much of a fight.
Cowboys 31 – Vikings 14
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Jess Haynie | @CowboysAddicts
The Minnesota Vikings have a great pass defense but give up just over 100 yards-per-game on the ground.
That’s the wrong formula for stopping Ezekiel Elliott and this Dallas Cowboys offense.
Cowboys 27 – Vikings 16
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Sean Martin | @ShoreSportsNJ
I think there’s room for the Cowboys to dominate this match-up with their running game. Ezekiel Elliott is going to be up for the challenge of hammering the Vikings’ front, grinding out long drives that end in points.
Sound familiar?
It’s what has worked all season for Dallas, and it should make life tough on Minnesota as they lack a quick-strike offense.
Cowboys 31 – Vikings 17
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RJ Ochoa | @RJOchoa
The Vikings certainly have a formidable defense, but the Cowboys have Ezekiel Elliott… and Dak Prescott… and Dez Bryant. I expect Minnesota to live up to their defensive reputation, to a degree, but it’s impossible to do it for four full quarters.
Cowboys 24 – Vikings 20
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Brian Martin | @Bmart0204
The Minnesota Vikings started out as one of the better teams in the NFL, but have really struggled as of late. I think the Dallas Cowboys offense will get the better of a tough Vikings defense, even if they are playing on the road in a tough environment.
I have the Cowboys improving their winning streak to 11 games and hopefully securing a playoff spot as well with a victory.
Cowboys 27 – Vikings 13
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Justin Grohowski | @Grohowknowhow
For the first time all year, I expect the Dallas defense to be this week’s MVP. After giving up 500-plus yards on turkey day, they’re motivated to step up in this one. Also helps when you’re going up against Sam Bradford and the worst offensive line in the league.
Dallas sacks Bradford five times in this one, and the defense finally gets a turnover. Minnesota will do a great job limiting big plays by the Cowboys, but they won’t be held down all day. Dallas pulls out an ugly win and extends their winning streak to 11 games.
Cowboys 20 – Vikings 16
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Bryson Treece | @BrysonTreece
I dreaded this match-up through the first six weeks of the season, then during the Cowboys’ bye week, I sat down Sunday afternoon to watch the Vikings and Eagles play a wild and turnover-heavy first quarter. The Vikings haven’t worried me as much since.
The Cowboys have found some special this year and continue to enjoy success where they have no right to find it, and I like the chemistry to keep things running hot enough in Dallas to warm over Minnesota. Cowboys bruise the Vikings’ lackluster run defense and control the clock, but struggle on defense. Close call, but the Cowboys prevail.
Cowboys 27 – Vikings 20
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No matter the final score, this one is going to either be a nail-biter or a blow-out, we just hope the Cowboys come out on top. Eleven in a row is something special, but more important than that is maintaining momentum and the confidence these special rookies have ahead of the Sunday Night Football rematch with the Giants on December 11th.
