For both the Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys, Jan. 28, 1960, is an important date.

It was the moment Dallas and Minnesota officially joined the NFL as the league's 13th and 14th franchises, respectively. The Cowboys played their inaugural season later that year; the Vikings instead began play in 1961. Since then, many of Minnesota's signature moments as a franchise – the good, the bad and, sometimes, the ugly – have included Dallas.

The Vikings first-ever preseason game in 1961 was against the Cowboys; Dallas held its training camp that year in Minnesota at St. Olaf College in Northfield while the Vikings had their very first training camp about 250 miles northwest of St. Olaf at Bemidji State College. The two teams then played their preseason game in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where Dallas won 38-13.

Minnesota and Dallas met twice in the regular season that year; the Vikings fell to the Cowboys 21-7 in Week 2 (Minnesota's first regular-season road game) before dropping a home contest to Dallas 28-0 just two weeks later (the Vikings first shutout loss). Both of those games were significant for Dallas, too, as they were two of the first three victories in Cowboys history (Dallas went 0-11-1 in its first year as a franchise in 1960).

On Sunday, the two historic franchises will meet again, as Minnesota (5-8) travels to Dallas (6-6-1) for a prime-time matchup on Sunday Night Football. It will be the fifth meeting between the two sides in the specific time slot (each team has won twice). The Vikings will also become one of three non-division opponents to play the Cowboys at least five times on SNF in history, joining the Los Angeles Rams (five games) and the Saints (six games).

Additionally, Sunday's contest will mark as the Vikings franchise's 1,000th regular-season. For the Cowboys, while Sunday will be their 1,012th regular-season game as a team, it will be their 200th in prime time (since 1970).

Let's see who the experts are picking to win the game:

Cowboys 24, Vikings 21 – Pete Prisco, CBS Sports

The Vikings are playing out the string, but they did get a nice game from J.J. McCarthy last week, which is big for the future. Now let's see him do it on the road this week. The Cowboys are rested after losing last Thursday to the Lions. I see them bouncing back here as Dak Prescott has a solid day, but the Vikings will hang around.

Cowboys 28, Vikings 20 – Bill Bender, Sporting News

The Cowboys had extra time to prepare for the Vikings. J.J. McCarthy threw three TDs for the Vikings in Week 14 against the Commanders, but he also took four sacks. Dallas receiver CeeDee Lamb is in concussion protocol. Dallas needs this one to stay in a tight playoff race, and the Cowboys are 4-1-1 at home.

Cowboys 31, Vikings 24 – Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News

Minnesota got some promise from J.J. McCarthy to lead the victory at home, but it was the defense making the much-needed big statement to keep faint playoff hopes alive. Dallas lost to Detroit to hurt its fading chances, but it is a different kind of explosive, efficient offensive machine at home. Dak Prescott will hope CeeDee Lamb will be cleared with extra time, but regardless, he can execute better with his weapons than McCarthy can.

0 of 5 experts pick the Vikings, NFL.com

Analysis from NFL.com's Dan Parr:

J.J. McCarthy rediscovered his equilibrium last week, which makes this matchup a lot more interesting than if he hadn't. I'm most interested in the slugfest between the Cowboys high-flying offense and Brian Flores' hard-charging defense, which pitched a shutout in its last outing. Minnesota has a league-high 49.2% blitz rate, but I don't know if the extra rushers will faze Dak Prescott much. He has 1,123 passing yards against the blitz (third most) and ranks second in passing yards when facing pressure (1,018). Getting CeeDee Lamb back from a concussion would help immensely, of course. Dallas has been tough to beat at home and is still clinging to playoff hopes with the Eagles in faceplant mode. I'm expecting [Dallas Head Coach] Brian Schottenheimer's crew to survive a close one, something they've proven they can do at AT&T Stadium.

1 of 7 experts pick the Vikings, Bleacher Report

Bleacher Report analysis by Gary Davenport:

Dak Prescott's MVP-caliber season is being wasted on a team that sits dead-last in the NFC in scoring defense.

The Cowboys are a much tougher out at home, but even with J.J. McCarthy's inconsistency this year, if he gets a clean pocket, Minnesota's offense should be able to move the ball enough to keep this one close.

Bleacher Report analysis by Kris Knox:

CeeDee Lamb's status looms large here, as it feels like we'd see a lower line if he was definitely unavailable.

It's still a larger line than I'd like because I don't trust Dallas' secondary against one of the league's better receiving corps.

One thing I trust less, though, is the prospect of McCarthy playing two clean games in a row. I expect a close one with a Vikings turnover leading to a touchdown difference.

0 of 6 experts pick the Vikings, The MMQB

0 of 8 experts (3 of 11 total had not submitted) pick the Vikings, ESPN

1 of 6 experts pick the Vikings, The Athletic

0 of 6 experts pick the Vikings, USA Today

Series Notes

The Vikings and Cowboys have met 34 times in their history, with Dallas holding a 19-15 lead in the series. The Cowboys have controlled the series lately, as Dallas has won three consecutive games against Minnesota and five of the past seven dating back to the 2010 season.

Although the Vikings have only won two of their past seven matchups against the Cowboys, six of those games were decided by four points or fewer. Minnesota's victories came in 2010 (24-21) and 2019 (28-24) while Dallas claimed victories in 2013 (27-23), 2016 (17-15), 2020 (31-28) and 2021 (20-16).

The most recent meeting took place in Minnesota during the 2022 season. Both sides exchanged field goals in the first quarter before Dallas scored 37 unanswered points in a 40-3 victory. It not only snapped a seven-game winning streak for Minnesota, but it was the Vikings only loss at home in the regular season that season.

Despite trailing in the overall series, Minnesota has an 8-6 record when playing in Dallas. The Vikings have won three of their past five visits to Dallas; prior to Minnesota's four-point victory in 2019, the Vikings also defeated the Cowboys 27-15 in 2000 and 46-36 on Thanksgiving Day in 1998.

When it comes to playing on Sunday Night Football in particular, Dallas has played the most games (83) of any team in the time slot and has the most victories (42). The Cowboys are 42-40-1 overall on SNF, including a 23-15-1 mark at home (the most recent instance was Dallas' 40-40 tie with Green Bay in overtime in Week 3).

The Vikings are 21-26 all-time on SNF, but they are just 8-14 on the road, including dropping their past four consecutive games as the visitor. The last victory for Minnesota while on the road on Sunday night? The 2019 trip to Dallas mentioned above.

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