The Minnesota Vikings all but ended the Dallas Cowboys’ season on Sunday night as the Vikings beat the Cowboys 34-26 at AT&T Stadium. Dallas is now 6-7-1 and needs to win out and to have the Philadelphia Eagles lose out in order to make the playoffs. The Cowboys have been eliminated from Wild Card consideration and the NFC East is practically out of reach. Dallas will host the Los Angeles Chargers this Sunday at Noon.
LIVE: Head Coach Kevin O'Connell talks to the media following tonight’s win over Dallas https://t.co/OCJMstR7dN
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 15, 2025
Story of this game was the Vikings’ ability to pressure Dak Prescott, which kept Dallas from finishing drives with TD’s, and the Cowboys’ inability to pressure J.J. McCarthy. Minnesota had 2 sacks and 11 QB hits, while Dallas didn’t register a sack and was credited with 1 QB hit. One hit on J.J. McCarthy, a QB who has completed 57% of his passes and has thrown as many picks as TD’s this season. I don’t understand why Dallas didn’t start blitzing more as the game went along. McCarthy was able to settle in after an interception on the second play of the game, caused by, yep, a blitzing Donovan Wilson. Asking a DB to play man coverage on Justin Jefferson all night isn’t normally sound thinking, but DaRon Bland and others held their own, holding the All Pro to only 2 catches for 22 yards. Dallas held Minnesota in check on the ground for most of the night, as the Vikings only amassed 77 yards on 28 carries. However, Minnesota ran 4:22 off the clock late, and after a Will Reichard 53 yard FG, the Vikings led 34-23 and the game was decided.
Pressure forces the pick‼️
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📺: #MINvsDAL on NBC
📲: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/RmDxAeCG4M pic.twitter.com/7mLGBIz1ap— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) December 15, 2025
Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores is known for throwing the kitchen sink at opposing offenses, and while Dak Prescott threw for 294 yards, he was held without a TD pass. Dallas was only 2-12 on third down, which is the worst that they’ve been in any game this season. Brandon Aubrey attempted 6 FG’s in this game, making 4 but missing from 51 and 59 yards. It’s only the second time in Aubrey’s career that he’s missed two attempts in one game. The offense wasn’t terrible, but settling for FG attempts when your defense isn’t dominating is a good way to get beat.
SCH👀N
📺: #MINvsDAL on NBC
📲: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/RmDxAeCG4M pic.twitter.com/UAsOQqCjBZ— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) December 15, 2025
The final home game of the 2025 season is up next as the Cowboys host the Los Angeles Chargers this Sunday at 12:00 on FOX. L.A. is 10-4 in Jim Harbaugh’s second season as head coach, and the Chargers are coming off a 16-13 win in Kansas City that ended the Chiefs’ hopes of making the playoffs. Justin Herbert has completed 66% of his passes for just shy of 3,200 yards with 23 TD’s and 12 INT’s. Herbert had surgery to repair his fractured left hand a few weeks ago. Ladd McConkey and Keenan Allen have been an underrated WR tandem across the league this season, combining for almost 1,400 receiving yards between them. RB’s Kimani Vidal and Omarion Hampton have rushed for over 1,000 as a duo. The Chargers’ defense ranks 2nd in yards allowed, 3rd against the pass, 11th against the run, and 9th in points allowed. LB Tuli Tuipulotu has 12 sacks on the year, and Donte Jackson and former Sooner Tony Jefferson share the team lead with 4 INT’s a piece. Philadelphia plays at Washington on Saturday, so the Cowboys could be officially eliminated from the playoffs 17 hours before they kickoff the following day. It’ll be interesting to see what Dallas does with Dak Prescott on Sunday if the Eagles win on Saturday. I’m sure that Prescott will be the focus of the game plan throughout the week, because as long as you’re mathematically alive, you have to give yourself the best chance to win. The Chargers are playing for playoff positioning with the hope that their Week 18 game against the Broncos will be for the AFC West title. Los Angeles is the better team and they have more to play for.
Chargers 31 Cowboys 20
Matt Meyer
@Bluto51
Recap the #MINvsDAL game & more on tonight’s Game Night presented by @ATT.
📺: Up Next ➡️ #LACvsDAL 12/21 on FOX https://t.co/ukjgpnmPcf
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) December 15, 2025
