An active and nasty defense and the steady leg of kicker Ryan Longwell led the Minnesota Vikings to a 23-14 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in both team’s preseason finale at the Metrodome. The defense forced five turnovers and Longwell was a perfect three of three on field goal attempts to move the Vikings to 2-2 in the preseason. The loss dropped Dallas to 2-2.
Starters for both teams saw limited action, with many of them seeing no time at all. Dallas starting quarterback Tony Romo and star receiver Terrell Owens both sat out, as did Vikings starting running back Chester Taylor, cornerback Antoine Winfield and middle linebacker E.J. Henderson. The starters that did play for both teams left after the first series, with the exception of the Vikings Ryan Cook, who saw extensive action at right tackle.
“They had me playing in a lot of phases,” Vikings safety Greg Blue said. “After a while it wears on you, but I was happy to have the opportunity to get out there and play.”
A mostly uneventful opening quarter was highlighted by a 95-yard Jerheme Urban punt return that gave Dallas a 7-0 lead with under five minutes remaining. Several Vikings missed tackles on the return, including punter Chris Kluwe along the right sideline. Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress challenged the play, suggesting Urban stepped out of bounds during Kluwe’s attempted tackle. The officials didn’t overturn the call and the touchdown stood.
While they were shutout in the first quarter, the Vikings offense responded early in the second quarter with two touchdowns. Backup quarterback Brooks Bollinger, who took over for Jackson after the Vikings first drive of the game, led his team on an eight-play, 58-yard scoring drive that culminated in a one-yard touchdown run by Artose Pinner.
Just four minutes later, Bollinger hooked up with rookie receiver Sidney Rice in the back of the endzone on a four-yard touchdown pass. Rice leaped to grab the pass out of the air and then acrobatically tip-toed the out-of-bounds line to notch the first touchdown reception of his career. Earlier in the first quarter, Rice made a similar catch along the sideline on a nice pass thrown by Tarvaris Jackson on third down.
“I knew I was close to the line so I had to get my feet in,” Rice said after the game. “But the first thing I thought of was to make sure I caught the ball.
“It feels like the offense is on the same page now and it’s time to get things going for real in the regular season.”
A Cowboys rookie also looked impressive in the first half; rookie quarterback Matt Moore was nine of ten for 62 yards and one touchdown pass. He led Dallas on a nine-play, 43-yard drive that was capped by a five-yard touchdown reception by Tony Curtis. The score and ensuing PAT evened the score at 14 with just two minutes remaining in the first half.
Bollinger and the Vikings responded by driving quickly to midfield on their next possession, aided primarily by two Billy McMullen receptions that put Ryan Longwell within striking distance with just eight seconds remaining. Longwell split the uprights on a 47-yard attempt, giving his team a 17-14 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.
Bollinger finished the first half going nine of 15 for 109 yards and one touchdown. That touchdown reception went to Rice, who had two catches for 17 yards in the first half. Pinner paced the Vikings ground game in the first half, tallying 21 rushing yards and one touchdown on eight carries. McMullen also contributed, hauling in three catches for 38 yards. Newly acquired receiver Robert Ferguson had the half’s longest play, a 38-yard catch and run from Bollinger along the right sideline.
Dallas first-half performance was led by Moore and running back Tyson Thompson, who had eight carries for 12 yards two receptions for 19 yards. Curtis had five grabs for 44 yards while Urban had three catches for 13 yards and the punt return. Former Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson looked sharp for the Cowboys, completing five of seven passes for 44 yards.
Led by Kelly Holcomb in his first action with the Vikings since being acquired earlier in the week the Vikings offense moved quickly to put up three early second-half points. Holcomb led the Vikings on a ten-play, 60-yard drive that included receptions of 16 yards by Martin Nance and 22 yards by Jason Carter. Longwell converted a 27-yard attempt to give the Vikings a 20-14 lead with 14:43 remaining in the third quarter.
“It’s been quite the week,” Holcomb said following the game. “I was just saying a minute ago that earlier in the week I was suiting up in Philadelphia and tonight I played a game in Minnesota. So it’s been hectic but that’s part of being in this league.”
After defensive tackle Howard Green recovered his second fumble of the game, the Vikings tacked on three more points when Longwell booted his third field goal of the night. Longwell’s 37-yard boot capped a drive led by rookie quarterback Tyler Thigpen. The highlight play of the drive was an 11-yard run by running back Ciatrick Fason. Fason broke at least five tackles on the run and he put the Vikings in Longwell’s range. After the field goal, Minnesota led 23-14 with just under nine minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
At that point in the game the Vikings had tallied nine straight points and 23 of the previous 30 points.
The Cowboys next drive was also interrupted by a turnover when Vikings rookie defensive end Brian Robison made an outstanding play on quarterback Richard Bartel. Robison beat the left tackle around the edge and knocked the ball away from Bartel before he could throw it; Robison also recovered the fumble. The turnover was Dallas fourth turnover (all fumbles) of the game but it did not result in any Vikings points.
Vikings reserve defensive back Chad Johnson recorded an interception late in the game to tally the team’s fifth turnover. Johnson made a nice play on a deep pass thrown by Bartel to end the drive and cement the Vikings victory.
Minnesota out-performed Dallas on the ground but offensive statistics were relatively equal. Turnovers proved to be the difference, as the Cowboys committed five and Minnesota only one.
The Vikings begin the 2007 regular season on September 9 by hosting the Atlanta Falcons at noon. Dallas opens regular season action by hosting the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football on September 9.
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