20 Things to Know before Vikings-Cowboys

Dustin Baker |

Oct 30, 2021

The Minnesota Vikings (3-3) host the Dallas Cowboys (5-1) on Halloween night at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Here are 20 stats, facts, and things to know leading into the NFC showdown.

Last year, the Cowboys finished the season with the NFL’s 23rd-ranked defensive DVOA. Through seven weeks, they’re ranked 10th in 2021.
Trevon Diggs’ streak with an interception in six consecutive games is the longest in the NFL since Brian Russell of the Vikings had the same streak of six games in 2003.
Cooper Rush, Dallas’ QB2, has not thrown a regular-season pass since 2017.
The Cowboys leads the all-time head-to-head series over the Vikings, winning 17 games to Minnesota’s 15.
Sunday’s game will mark the third time in five years that the Vikings and Cowboys have squared off in primetime.
Teams quarterbacked by Kirk Cousins are 2-7 against Dallas, while Cousins individually showcases a 103.1 passer rating versus the Cowboys.
The Vikings game against the Cowboys will be the first in the professional career of Patrick Peterson he has ever missed due to injury.
Running back Kene Nwangwu makes his NFL debut on Sunday.
Five out of six Vikings games in 2021 have gone down to the very final play.
With Kirk Cousins as quarterback, the Vikings have lost only one game to NFC East opponents — the Cowboys in 2020. All in all, the Cousins-led Vikings are 5-1 against the NFC East.
Kirk Cousins has thrown a touchdown pass in 20 consecutive games — the second-longest active streak in the NFL behind Ben Roethlisberger (21 games).
The Vikings have produced a 3-3 record through six games 12 times in franchise history. In various seeding formats throughout the years, the Vikings reach the playoffs 50% of the time when starting a season 3-3.
Minnesota leads the NFL in sacks per game (on defense).
K.J. Osborn is the first Vikings wide receiver not named Thielen, Jefferson, or Diggs to post 300+ Receiving Yards and 2+ touchdowns through the first six games of a season since Greg Jennings in 2013.
The Vikings haven’t been 3-3 since 2008.
Sunday’s game for the Vikings will be their first home game immediately after a bye week since 2015.
When the ball is kicked off on Sunday night, Anthony Barr will have played more games for the Vikings than Steve Hutchinson.
75% of the Vikings last 20 football games have been decided by one score or less.
The Vikings haven’t won a “primetime game against a team that finished the season with a winning record” since Week 1 of 2017.
With fans in attendance, no non-Vikings QB has ever thrown more than two touchdowns in a regular season game at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).

Also Read: Unlikely Ally Defends Kirk Cousins