In the first half of Sunday Night Football, the Vikings played as risky as they did against the Cowboys.
The Cowboys, who are fighting for playoff survival, were tied with the Vikings 17-17 at halftime. The Vikings were eliminated from playoff contention earlier in the day.
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The Vikings defeated the Cowboys 180-169.
Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Nailor and ran for a 1-yard touchdown on fourth down. The Vikings got to the Dallas 11 on the final possession of the first half but had to settle for a 29-yard field goal by Will Reichard and take a 17-14 lead with 1:48 left before halftime.
With 3 seconds left in the half, the Cowboys tied the score on Brandon Aubrey’s 37-yard field goal.
McCarthy’s first pass was broken up at the line of scrimmage by blitzing safety Donovan Wilson, who attempted to knock the ball down before passing it to Cowboys defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. The interception gave the Cowboys the ball at the Vikings’ 35, and they took an early 7-0 lead on Javonte Williams’ 1-yard rush.
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Williams never returned due to a shoulder injury.
Backup running back Malik Davis scored the Cowboys’ second touchdown on a 1-yard run.
Aubrey had earlier rushed 6 yards for a touchdown on a fake field goal, but he missed a 51-yard attempt on the right side. This would break the 14-14 tie.
Instead, Reichard’s kick gave the Vikings a three-point lead until Aubrey got another chance.
McCarthy completed 8 of 13 passes for 142 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and Jordan Addison had two catches for 66 yards. Aaron Jones rushed six times for 16 yards and had three catches for 31 yards. Justin Jefferson had one catch for 12 yards.
Dak Prescott completed 10 of 18 passes for 120 yards, and CeeDee Lamb had 51 catches and three completions. George Pickens had 1 catch for 10 yards.
