Vikings fall to the Cowboys on Thursday Night, Playoff Hopes Continuing to Dwindle
Adam Patrick
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In the Minnesota Vikings first game without head coach Mike Zimmer on the sidelines since the Leslie Frazier era (if there is such a thing), the purple and gold could not pull out a win over the best team in the NFL this season. In front of a home crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Vikings suffered a narrow 17-15 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night.
The loss is Minnesota’s sixth in their last seven games and the Vikings’ chance at making the playoffs is continuing resemble that of Benjamin Button’s syndrome. Once thought of being a challenger for the top seed in the NFC, Minnesota will now need a bunch of luck to even make the postseason as a wild-card.
The Vikings really could not have asked for a better performance from their defense tonight. Minnesota only allowed the Cowboys to throw for 124 yards and they were the first team in the last 10 weeks to hold Dallas’ rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott to under 90 rushing yards.
In addition, the Vikings defense forced two Cowboys’ turnovers and finished the night with three sacks. But it still was not enough for Minnesota to avoid another letdown this season.
Speaking of a letdown, the Vikings’ offense provided their team with another dud of a performance. They did not turn the ball over, but they did fail to gain over 100 rushing yards as a team for the 11th time in 2016.
With four games left in their season, Minnesota basically needs to win out to make the playoffs. It can be done, since none of their final games are against teams with a winning record.
But with the Vikings’ awesome luck this season, they will likely win their next three games and find a way to lose their last game at home to the Chicago Bears and miss making the playoffs. This is being optimistic.
As for Zimmer. He should probably avoid watching any film of this game or he might end up ripping out his other eye.