The Vikings dialed for long distance at AT&T Stadium, and Mike Wallace and Cordarrelle Patterson answered against the Cowboys.
Wallace reeled in a perfectly thrown 39-yard pass from Teddy Bridgewater that led the speedy receiver down the sideline, and Patterson responded to a Dallas touchdown with a 107-yard kickoff return for a TD in the Vikings 28-14 win Saturday.
Wallace entered the game with 1 catch for two yards, but the Vikings hadn't been pressing the panic button about the offseason acquisition. He finished with three receptions for 50 yards against Dallas.
Bridgewater continued his blazing start to the preseason, going 7-of-7 passing for 76 yards and a passer rating of 111.9. He led a 10-play drive that resulted in a 28-yard field goal by Blair Walsh. Bridgewater is now 29-of-35 passing (82.9 percent) for 295 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions during the preseason for collective rating of 111.3.
Veteran Shaun Hill relieved Bridgewater and went 6-of-8 passing for 50 yards. Hill suffered an interception on his second series while trying to hit rookie Stefon Diggs against eighth-year pro Brandon Carr. He bounced back with a beauty of a toss to Diggs on the next possession for a gain of 18 to set up Blair Walsh for a 45-yard field goal.
Third-string QB Taylor Heinicke was 11-for-11 for 83 yards and led drives that ended with touchdown runs by Dominique Williams in the third quarter and Joe Banyard in the fourth quarter. Williams had six carries for 25 yards and Banyard added five rushes for 26 yards.
View game action images from Saturday night's game against the Cowboys.
After missing three field goals and an extra point during the stormy, weather-delayed game last week against the Raiders, Walsh was 2-for-3 on field goals (making from 28 and 45; missing from 43), kicked two extra points and recorded four touchbacks on six kickoffs, often blasting the ball through the end zone. Walsh also punted once, filling in briefly while Jeff Locke was recovering from an injury.
Cowboys QB Tony Romo hit Terrance Williams in stride on a crossing route that turned into a 60-yard TD. Romo also had an 8-yard TD pass to Lucky Whitehead.
Notes: Gerald Hodges started at middle linebacker in the base defense for the first time and was replaced by rookie Eric Kendricks when the Vikings used their nickel defense. … Joe Berger started at center in place of John Sullivan. Shamar Stephen, MyCole Pruitt and Carter Bykowski did not dress. … The Vikings improved to 4-0 this preseason, and the Cowboys fell to 0-3. … Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer, who coached in Dallas from 1994-2006, improved to 8-0 at the Vikings helm in preseason games. … The Vikings honored Jeramie Gruber, who tragically passed away this week, by wearing a sticker with his initials on their helmets.
