The deck was stacked against the Dallas Cowboys, who entered into united state Financial institution Arena short-handed to play the Minnesota Vikings without beginning quarterback Dak Prescott. There had not been any kind of flinch in these Cowboys however, as they won an exciting 20-16 win with back-up quarterback Cooper Rush drawing a couple of aces out from his sleeve in the second fifty percent.
It wasn't an excellent video game, however when a group wins without their MVP prospect, on the road, it certainly can feel like, obtaining a texas hold'em term, hitting a gutshot right on the river. Without any franchise QB, shedding their franchise business left take on as well as a banged up wide receiver, the implied probabilities weren't the very best. Didn't issue. Here's the great, the poor as well as the ugly for the Cowboys in their final victory over the Vikings in Week 8.
The Excellent: Thrill and also the play calling
(AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)The Cowboys publicly shared self-confidence in Thrill all week if Prescott couldn't play, which wasn't lip service. Rush played well as well as the tactical plan really did not hide from his lack of experience. Rather than going into traditional mode with an attack of run phone calls, offensive planner Kellen Moore stayed
hostile as well as Rush tossed the ball 40 times, tossing for 325 yards, 2 ratings. Cooper Rush is the 12th UDFA quarterback in NFL
history to get his first job begin in prime-time television. His 325 backyards
passing are the most amongst those 12. The previous high was 270 lawns set by Tony Romo versus the Panthers in 2006.-- Bobby Belt(@BobbyBeltTX) Rush did toss an interception, yet there was no panic as the violation persevered and also performed on many of the intermediate tosses to the sidelines to maintain the chains relocating. It had not been the traditional tactical plan many could expect when the backup QB is pushed into action and Rush was up to the obstacle.
The Bad: The opening defense
The protection needed to play a huge duty if the Cowboys were going to defeat the Vikings and it wasn't looking great early. On the initial drive of the game, Dallas surrendered a seven-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a touchdown on miscommunication in the additional.
Initially, there was limited end Tyler Conklin surpassing safety Jayron Kearse down the appropriate sideline for a 31-yard gain.
WOW Tyler Conklin raises over the top of previous colleague Jayron Kearse for a BIG acquire off a Kirk Cousins penny||
: on or
-- NFL Australia (@NFLAustralia)
After that it was Trevon Diggs getting melted by WR Justin Jefferson leading to a DPI telephone call, adhered to by Diggs attacking hard on a play-action pass to Adam Thielen for a 20-yard rating. Anthony Brown got toasted on the next drive by a Jefferson double-move yet Dallas escaped even more damage many thanks to a Kirk Cousins overthrow.
It was much as well very easy early for the Vikings as well as it looked like though the Cowboys weren't ready to play after a week off.
The Great: The defense afterwards( AP Photo/Jim Mone)Thrill will certainly headline the win, yet the protection deserves their appreciation for just how they responded. Dan Quinn's system really did not give up another touchdown after the preliminary drive as well as restricted the tools on the Vikings to sub-par outputs. The Cowboys held star running back Dalvin Cook to 78 backyards on the ground, surrendered only 2 catches for 21 backyards to pass receiver Justin Jefferson and allowed just 184 backyards passing to quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Dallas' protection likewise obtained massive stops when they required them. The device held the Vikings to 1 for 13 on third-down conversions as well as quit no points off the offenses 2 turn overs, both of which gave the Vikings the ball near midfield. The protection's capacity to hold the Vikings to a field goal on the fine riddled drive was significant, it enabled the Cowboys to win the video game on infraction.
The defense deserves a lots of credit report, they never ever folded. Got down early & & defended the win ... despite rough calls late, still held!
Great performance when they obtained NO turn overs!
-- Ben Grimaldi (@BenGrimaldi)
The Bad: Greg Zuerlein
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The Good: Micah Parsons The rookie linebacker had among his best games in the win over the Vikings. Parsons was throughout the field as he was attributed with 11 total tackles, four deals with for a loss, as well as a quarterback hit.
Cowboys novice LB Micah Parsons' last video game disappointed his standards. So he changed his preparation regimen this week as well as told himself today: "You've reached be the 'it' element."
Team-best 11 tackles, 4 TFLs, sack in sway Vikings
-- Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein)
The brief death game of the Vikings was taken apart by Parsons' ability to read the play and also make open area deals with.
The Ugly: Fines It's a recurring
motif with the Cowboys, that had a lot of fines in Week 8. The defense committed 3 questionable penalties on what can have been the game-losing drive late in the fourth quarter and they require to play smarter. Some of the telephone calls were suspect, but Dallas can not maintain placing themselves in those positions to obtain those fines called.
Defensive end Bradlee Anae additionally cost the Cowboys 3 points when he leapt offsides on a punting that allowed the Vikings to proceed a drive and obtain 3 factors.
Getting penalized 11 times for 96 yards is not wise football as well as Dallas won't always locate a means to win these games when they maintain getting flagged.
The Excellent: Clutch performance
There were minutes where the Cowboys made it hard on themselves, but they play the big plays in the largest moments of the video game.
Wide receiver Cedrick Wilson's catch and compete a 73-yard score to begin the 2nd fifty percent opened up the violation a bit and fellow wide out Amari Cooper's balancing 33-yard catch on the game-winning drive was a substantial play.
Nonetheless, the play of the video game belonged to running back Ezekiel Elliott, who really did not have his best game on the ground. On third-and-11, Elliott took the dump off, split 2 defenders enclosing, two times, and defended 15-yard gain to set the Cowboys up inside the five-yard line, and also eventually the winning goal.
On 3rd & & 11, Ezekiel Elliott picks up 15 lawns for the Cowboys initially down. What were the odds of Elliott obtaining at least 11 backyards according to our expected YAC version?
First Down Likelihood: 3.4%|
-- Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats)
The Cooper-to-Cooper score doesn't take place if Elliott doesn't find a way to get the initial down as well as the end result might have been various. The Cowboys made the big plays when they required them, that's just how they won the game.
The defense deserves a lots of credit report, they never ever folded. Got down early & & defended the win ... despite rough calls late, still held!
Great performance when they obtained NO turn overs!
-- Ben Grimaldi (@BenGrimaldi)
Cowboys novice LB Micah Parsons' last video game disappointed his standards. So he changed his preparation regimen this week as well as told himself today: "You've reached be the 'it' element."
Team-best 11 tackles, 4 TFLs, sack in sway Vikings
-- Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein)
The brief death game of the Vikings was taken apart by Parsons' ability to read the play and also make open area deals with.
The Ugly: Fines It's a recurring
motif with the Cowboys, that had a lot of fines in Week 8. The defense committed 3 questionable penalties on what can have been the game-losing drive late in the fourth quarter and they require to play smarter. Some of the telephone calls were suspect, but Dallas can not maintain placing themselves in those positions to obtain those fines called.
Defensive end Bradlee Anae additionally cost the Cowboys 3 points when he leapt offsides on a punting that allowed the Vikings to proceed a drive and obtain 3 factors.
Getting penalized 11 times for 96 yards is not wise football as well as Dallas won't always locate a means to win these games when they maintain getting flagged.
The Excellent: Clutch performance
There were minutes where the Cowboys made it hard on themselves, but they play the big plays in the largest moments of the video game.
Wide receiver Cedrick Wilson's catch and compete a 73-yard score to begin the 2nd fifty percent opened up the violation a bit and fellow wide out Amari Cooper's balancing 33-yard catch on the game-winning drive was a substantial play.
Nonetheless, the play of the video game belonged to running back Ezekiel Elliott, who really did not have his best game on the ground. On third-and-11, Elliott took the dump off, split 2 defenders enclosing, two times, and defended 15-yard gain to set the Cowboys up inside the five-yard line, and also eventually the winning goal.
On 3rd & & 11, Ezekiel Elliott picks up 15 lawns for the Cowboys initially down. What were the odds of Elliott obtaining at least 11 backyards according to our expected YAC version?
First Down Likelihood: 3.4%|
-- Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats)
The Cooper-to-Cooper score doesn't take place if Elliott doesn't find a way to get the initial down as well as the end result might have been various. The Cowboys made the big plays when they required them, that's just how they won the game.
On 3rd & & 11, Ezekiel Elliott picks up 15 lawns for the Cowboys initially down. What were the odds of Elliott obtaining at least 11 backyards according to our expected YAC version?
First Down Likelihood: 3.4%|
-- Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats)
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