NFLBy: Greg Rector
Vikings 28 Cowboys 24
There is no doubt about this, the Dallas Cowboys are an organization of mediocrity. For the sixth time in nine games, they fell behind early. They fought back, but could not stop the Vikings from leaving AT&T Stadium with the victory. The broken record continues to play, why can’t this team be ready to start a game? They looked two steps slow in the first quarter and trailed 14-0 before waking from their slumber.
The Vikings meanwhile did exactly what I feared they would do, they executed their game plan. The inability to stop the short passes and yards after the catch cost the Cowboys dearly. You would have hoped that after a few times the defense would have adjusted their game plan, but they did not alter a thing. Cook and Mattison took turns getting through to the second level and moving the Vikings downfield. The rush defense tightened up in the red zone, but that left them vulnerable to Cousins finding Kyle Rudolph in the end zone.
The minute I saw Maher trotting onto the field after the first drive stalled, I went “here we go again.” why? Because early in a football game, you PUNT the ball, put the visiting team deep in their own end to begin a game. You do not try a 57 yard FG that when it was missed gave the Vikings excellent field position. Decisions like that are exactly why I have called for Garrett’s head on the platter for years.
The passing game was en Fuego last night. However, the Vikings bottled up Elliott in the running game all night. Here’s the mediocrity issue again, late in the game when you know the ground game hasn’t worked, they continued to try the same types of runs that had been stopped all night. How about a sweep? Nah. Maybe an option? Nah. Right up the gut some more instead, straight into a wall of guys in purple. When your best weapon is being stopped, you make changes, not even trying to get Elliott the ball in different ways is poor coaching.
Now I am not laying all the blame at Garrett’s feet. Hello to the 53 guys in uniform, HELLO!!! You guys have to within yourselves have the want, the need, the desire, to start your job on time. Don’t expect talent to let you come back week after week. It’s not how this works boys. Plenty of teams have the talent to match yours. Guess what fella’s? The next few opponents are all better TEAMS than you are. This is gut-check time. Contenders don’t have just one A+ game out of nine. That’s where you guys are at in my opinion. One great game and eight so-so efforts.
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