Cowboys at Vikings: History Suggests Another Thrilling Finish

Grab your popcorn. The Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings could be set for a heart-pounding finish (again).

The Dallas Cowboys can’t sit around and sulk for long.

Following Sunday’s headset-throwing 31-28 overtime loss to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, the Cowboys (6-3) must quickly regroup before facing the Minnesota Vikings (8-1), a team that has established itself as a Super Bowl contender following an overtime win over the Buffalo Bills Sunday in what was swiftly tabbed as the game of the year.

The Cowboys and Vikings were a part of the only two overtime games on Sunday. And as the two teams get set for a matchup at U.S Bank Stadium for a third straight season and fourth overall, recent history shows us that another thrilling finish could be in store.

Since legendary quarterback Brett Favre led Minnesota to a 34-3 thrashing over Dallas in the NFC Divisional in 2010, the Cowboys and Vikings have met six times in the regular season.

Incredibly, all six of those meetings have been decided by four points or fewer.

The Vikings have become known as a team that always seems to be caught in close games. Sunday's win against Buffalo was the most recent example. But the trend of tight finishes against Dallas over the past decade is eye-popping and certainly sets up the two teams for another heart-pounding thriller in Week 11.

Cowboys fan remember last season's win in Minnesota on Halloween, which featured the rise in popularity of Dallas backup quarterback Cooper Rush. In his first-career start, he led a game-winning drive that was capped off with a five-yard touchdown pass to former Cowboy Amari Cooper with under a minute to play, as Dallas secured a 20-16 win. 

The year before that, again without quarterback Dak Prescott, Dallas receiver CeeDee Lamb made one of the best catches of his career before a two-yard touchdown pass from Andy Dalton to Dalton Schultz with 1:37 left sealed a 31-28 win on the road for Dallas.

The Cowboys are 4-1 against the Vikings since 2013, with Minnesota's only win during that span coming in a 28-24 victory in 2019. Dallas was unable to convert in the red zone with under a minute left, as the Vikings held Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott to just 47 rush yards on 20 carries.

Despite the flurry of one-score finishes, some of these games have been more thrilling than others. During Prescott and Elliott's magical rookie season in 2016, the Cowboys narrowly escaped 17-15 after the Vikings failed on a game-tying two-point try with 25 seconds left, as Dallas moved to 11-1 record.

But as both teams get set for Sunday, it's the Vikings this time that will be aiming to improve off their one-loss record while Dallas looks to stay in the hunt for the NFC East with the streaking New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles.

Given our look back at history, Sunday's matchup might be best enjoyed by fans with no dog in the fight. Dallas and Minnesota kickoff at 3:25 p.m. CT.

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You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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