Dallas Cowboys looked like Super Bowl team in victory over Vikings, Jerry Jones says
When the Dallas Cowboys settled for a field goal after getting a sack and forced fumble on the opening possession of the game, it was met with anger and frustration by owner Jerry Jones.
One week after blowing a 14-point fourth quarter lead for the first time in history in a 31-28 overtime loss to the Green Bay Packers, it didn’t sit well with Jones that the Cowboys got the ball at the 27-yard line and essentially played with their food.
“I was worried,” Jones sheepishly admitted.
What Jones didn’t know was it was just the beginning of the biggest road victory in franchise history as the Cowboys scored on seven straight drives to open the game and added 37 more points in a dominant 40-3 victory. They also snapped a seven-game winning by the Minnesota Vikings (8-2), who have the second best record in the NFL.
To a man, the Cowboys said it was a statement victory about their talent, character and resolve following the disappointing to the Packers.
To Jones, it was something bigger; maybe even Super.
“A resounding yes. Yes. Unequivocally yes,” Jones said when asked if the Cowboys were Super Bowl contenders after what they did to the Vikings. “Yes, I think if we use the experience of what we’re having in the season, then we’re going to be playoff ready. I sure do think what I see out here right now is a team that you could go get a Super Bowl with.”
The Cowboys have not been the Super Bowl since their last title in the 1995 season. The have a total of four playoff wins since.
But in what is a wide-open race to the Super Bowl, especially in the NFC, there has not been a more resounding and dominant victory against a fellow contender than what the Cowboys did against the Vikings in controlling the game on both sides of the ball from start to finish.
The 37-point margin was the largest road victory in franchise history and the Cowboys dominated in yards, 458 to 183.
After allowing rushing performances of more than 200 yards in back-to-back games, the Cowboys allowed the Vikings to muster just 73 yards on the ground.
They pummeled quarterback Kirk Cousins into submission as he completed just 12 of 23 passes for 105 yards while being sacked seven times before being replaced in the fourth quarter.
And if you liked that, consider that receiver Justin Jefferson, regarded as the league’s best at his position, was reduced to a nonfactor with just three catches for 33 yards.
As well as the Cowboys defense played, the offense was even better as quarterback Dak Prescott offered his finest performance of the season, completing 22 of 25 passes for 276 yards with touchdown passes of 30 and 68 yards to running back Tony Pollard, who also had 80 yards rushing.
Pollard was the featured performer in a dominant effort on the ground as the Cowboys rushed 40 times for 151 yards in the game.
The Cowboys openly talked on the field in the third quarter about keeping their foot on the gas and sending the Vikings fans home early. There would be no repeat of last week’s collapse. A 23-3 halftime lead was 37-3 after three quarters.
And the deafening crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium was effectively silenced and gone, leaving only the Cowboys fans cheering for their team when the game ended.
“Obviously knowing coming in we knew the type of environment this place can have,” Prescott said. “(It’s hard to make) calls in ruckus with the sound, just with the way the fans get into it, the Skol chant, it sets up for a great atmosphere.
“But credit to the guys in that huddle. Different guys were saying different things on different drives about getting us going and staying focused. One of the guys says, ‘hey, let’s send some fans home early, early in the second half.’ And I think that’s to your point. Whether they got up and left, it definitely got quiet, and just allowed us to play to our tempo and just to play to our standard.”
That standard was most impressive on Sunday, especially considering the opponent.
Jones spent time in the locker room after the game with coach Mike McCarthy and defense coordinator Dan Quinn going over what had just transpired, and he was still in awe of his team’s performance.
“Mike and Dan and I were really talking about how much the team came back from the disappointment this time last week,” Jones said. “I think I said the word frustrated 10 times last week. ... This was a really good team and is a good team. And for us to come in here and play like that on all sides the ball is just unbelievable.
“I know our fans are excited and should be. I thought this game was going to tell us what we are. I don’t know that we’re that. I know what we’re not. We are not a team that doesn’t respond when it’s wounded. Everybody felt against the Packers that we underplayed. I think you saw what happened when we got out here tonight and it all came together.”
This story was originally published November 20, 2022 at 9:13 PM.
