FRISCO — The Cowboys win-or-go-home portion of the schedule continues Sunday night against the Vikings. When it comes to playoff opportunities, the Vikings (5-8) are last in the NFC North.
The Cowboys need to win out and hope for the Eagles to lose at least two games to have a chance to win the NFC East.
Dallas has won the last three games against the Vikings, the second-longest active win streak against an opponent.
Of the last four games of the season, the Vikings and the Chargers, who the Cowboys play next week, are the most difficult.
Cowboys
Here are five things to look for in Cowboys-Vikings:
Slow starts
The Cowboys last scored a touchdown on their opening drive on Oct. 19 at Denver. In the next five games, the Cowboys have kicked a field goal, turned the ball over on an interception and twice on downs and punted. Slow starts don’t necessarily mean a team will lose. The Cowboys trailed 21-0 to the Eagles before rallying to win. Yet, getting off to a better start eases pressure.
“I think it’s a multitude of things,” offensive coordinator Klayton Adams said. “Sometimes it’s the place that we’re calling plays, sometimes it’s just that type of day. So I think trying to pinpoint which of those it is when you get into a game like that is important. But I think we’ve found really several different things.”
Adams said the team has simulated the start of games in practices to try and fix the problems.
“We do late in the week and that’s been one of the kind of fun things for me as a coordinator is to simulate some of those things later in the week after you built the plan,” he said.
Pressure on J.J. McCarthy
In the last two games Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy has played, he’s been sacked nine times. In a victory over the Commanders, McCarthy was sacked four times.
Despite getting knocked around, McCarthy threw three touchdown passes.
Cowboys defensive tackle Kenny Clark said McCarthy is hard to bring down because of his ability to move in the pocket.
After not recording a sack against Denver, the Cowboys have picked up 14 the next five games. If the Cowboys are to defeat the Vikings, getting pressure on McCarthy is one of the keys.
“He’s just elusive,” Clark said of McCarthy. “He’s one of those guys that’s sneaky elusive. He can duck and hide behind the offensive linemen, man. They can spread out in space and make plays. So we gotta make sure it’s all hands on deck with him and getting him on the ground, push the pocket and get guys in front of him.”
One of the problems with the Vikings is the varying number of offensive line combinations. Minnesota has used 15 combinations, tied for tops in the NFL.
What’s happened to Justin Jefferson?
Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is considered one of the top players at his position. In the last two weeks, he has four catches for 15 yards on 10 targets. Overall, Jefferson has caught two touchdown passes. Last year, he caught 10. With four games left in the season, Jefferson has 810 receiving yards with 64 catches.
Jefferson could reach 1,000 yards, but he’s running out of time. Jefferson has finished the first five seasons of his career with at least 1,000 receiving yards. Meanwhile, he has caught just four of 17 deep targeted throws (20 or more yards). Defenses are targeting Jefferson with double coverage, using a cornerback and a safety deep. The inconsistency at quarterback — the Vikings have started three — and the number of offensive line combinations has also affected Jefferson.
Time to see more Revel
With Trevon Diggs out for Sunday night’s game, that means the Cowboys will start DaRon Bland and Shavon Revel on the outside at corner. The pairing is probably the future for the Cowboys at this position with Diggs’ future in question. The Cowboys have always enjoyed Revel‘s height. It’s something he used in man coverage in college that showed pro teams his potential as a playmaker. Revel is also learning how to play more in zone coverage. He will only get better in time. While Diggs missing the game adds to the year-long deal between him and the team, it’s a good time to evaluate Revel. And also look at Bland, who’s been average at times this season.
Dak Prescott against the blitz
The Vikings blitz an NFL-high 49.2%. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores likes to mix coverages to confuse quarterbacks.
Dak Prescott has a 106.2 quarterback rating against the blitz this season, throwing for the third-most passing yards (1,123) in the league.
“Yeah, most definitely just understanding that he’s an aggressive play caller,” Prescott said of Flores. “He’s a play caller that likes to win the game from the plays that he’s dialing up. The way that he’s attacking the offenses and the looks he’s presenting, giving us curveballs and making it tough on us. We just got to communicate. So yeah, why I relish this challenge is it’s as much of a game as anything that’s a challenge to me mentally and what I’m seeing on film and being able to decipher that and get us into the right protections, into the right looks and plays versus all the different looks.”