Minnesota Vikings vs Dallas Cowboys
Dalvin Cook was ultimately unstoppable as he ran (and caught) all over the Cowboys on Sunday night football. He would go on to finish with 183 total yards and 1 TD and lead the Vikings to a tough road win against the Cowboys. It was clear that Minnesota came in with a defensive gameplan that prioritized stopping the run – and they were able to do just that. While Minnesota held a slight edge in time of possession (33:27-26:33) Dallas ran more plays and had more offensive first downs. It was an exciting game that felt like either team could win, and the Vikings were able to just slightly edge out the Cowboys. What did we see as far as their fantasy output was concerned? Let’s take a look.
Dallas Cowboys
Quarterbacks
- Dak Prescott: 28/46, 397 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Cowboys’ QB Dak Prescott had a frustrated look on his face as his 4th down pass to RB Ezekiel Elliott was broken up by Vikings’ LB Eric Kendricks, trailing by 4 in the 4th quarter and trying to score a go-ahead TD. It was an impressive performance from Prescott, although he did struggle at times with his accuracy. Other times he was flat-out electric – including two perfectly-thrown TD passes. Prescott’s 2nd TD of the game was to a falling-down WR Randall Cobb who was draped in coverage into the end zone yet somehow still able to make the catch, and his third was a perfect throw off the sideline where WR Amari Cooper beautifully dragged his toes on the sideline to haul it in. Prescott wasn’t able to get the Cowboys a win, but he may have provided enough of a spark to get one for your fantasy team. He’ll look to maintain his high level of production next week against the Lions.
Running Backs
- Ezekiel Elliott: 20 carries, 47 yards | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards
- Tony Pollard: 1 carry, -4 yards
It was clear from the very beginning of this game that the Vikings had one thing on their mind defensively: stop RB Ezekiel Elliott. And that is exactly what Minnesota did, holding Elliott to 63 total yards on 22 touches. The Cowboys as a team rushed for only 50 yards total – which is almost 100 yards less than their per game average. Zeke wasn’t able to contribute much to the passing game either, finishing with only 2 catches for 16 yards. It was tough sledding for Zeke, but the Cowboys continued to go to him even though it had become obvious that the Vikings were dead set on neutralizing him. In the 4th quarter with Dallas down by 4, they moved the ball to the Vikings 19-yard line. After an 8-yard completion to WR Amari Cooper, Dallas handed off to Zeke on 2nd down, 3rd down, and then threw an incompletion to Zeke on 4th down – basically sealing the game for Minnesota. That choice to be conservative with their play-calling may have cost Dallas a win, but hopefully having Zeke in your fantasy lineup didn’t cost you a win as well.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
- Amari Cooper: 14 targets, 11 receptions, 147 yards, 1 TD
- Randall Cobb: 8 targets, 6 receptions, 106 yards, 1 TD
- Michael Gallup: 10 targets, 4 receptions, 76 yards, 1 TD
Dallas’ top trio of WRs all finished with a TD, and WRs Amari Cooper and Randall Cobb rewarded their owners with over 100 receiving yards to go with it. Cooper had two phenomenal sideline, toe-dragging catches to go along with 9 other receptions. With Minnesota selling out to stop Ezekiel Elliott, Prescott and the Cowboys’ receivers filled in the gaps with huge fantasy performances across the board. WR Michael Gallup opened up the scoring for Dallas in the 2nd quarter – taking advantage of single-coverage by a linebacker and walking into the end-zone untouched. Cooper, Cobb, and Gallup were all fantasy-relevant plays this week, and they’ll all look to continue their production next week against a reeling Lions’ secondary.
Minnesota Vikings
Quarterbacks
- Kirk Cousins: 23/32, 220 yards, 2 TDs
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins’ midseason renaissance continued in Dallas against the Cowboys on Sunday night, although he did get quite a bit of help from his superstar RB Dalvin Cook. Cousins helped his own cause with 2 TD passes – both to TE Kyle Rudolph. The first TD to Rudolph was a mind-boggling catch – Cousins threw off his back foot, wobbling a high ball into the back of the end-zone where Rudolph was able to snag it out of the air with one hand while keeping both feet in bounds. Cousins was efficient and accurate and executed Minnesota’s gameplan nearly to perfection – give the ball to Dalvin Cook and get the heck out of the way. While it wasn’t an amazing fantasy performance from Cousins, it was enough to keep him in streaming consideration next week at home against the Broncos defense.
Running Backs
- Dalvin Cook: 26 carries, 97 yards, 1 TD | 7 targets, 7 receptions, 86 yards
- Alexander Mattison: 8 carries, 52 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 2 yards
Vikings’ RB Dalvin Cook is the best RB in the NFL this season. There, I said it. He leads the NFL in scrimmage yards and now has 10 TDs to go along with it. Cook has yet to record a receiving TD yet this season, but he does have over 400 receiving yards to go with nearly 1,000 rushing yards. Cook gives you the feeling that he could score every single time he touches the ball. Cook set up both of Minnesota’s first two scores on 27-yard and 29-yard screen passes, respectively. Minnesota’s offense has done well to run more designed screens for Cook in recent weeks, catching opposing defenses off guard. Backup RB Alexander Mattison also looked sharp in relief of Cook – averaging over 6 yards per carry on the night. But this is Cook’s team, and it’s looking more and more likely that Cook could finish as the RB1 overall at the end of the season. It will be interesting to see what percentage of league-winning teams have Cook on their roster.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
- Stefon Diggs: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 49 yards
- Irv Smith, Jr: 6 targets, 5 receptions, 34 yards
- Kyle Rudolph: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 14 yards, 2 TDs
With Dalvin Cook dominating the game with every touch, there wasn’t much work to go around for the Vikings pass-catchers. WR Stefon Diggs ended with 49 yards, most of them coming on a circus-catch along the sidelines on an underthrown ball by Kirk Cousins. Diggs did well to stop, turn and make the proper adjustment, and then make a falling catch and hold onto possession in coverage. TE Kyle Rudolph added two touchdowns – including one on a circus-catch of his own. Rudolph was also able to add a two-point conversion. Dalvin Cook actually led the Vikings in receiving yards, as WR Adam Thielen was held out again with a hamstring injury. The Vikings pass-catching unit will hope to be more productive next week at home against the Broncos. If Thielen has to miss next week’s game as well, it will be interesting to see if he’s able to return in week 12 after Minnesota’s bye week.
–Corey Saucier
Featured Image by Justin Paradis (@freshmeatcomm on Twitter)