It seems the biggest storyline heading into tonight's Thursday Night Football matchup is the Vikings defense versus the Cowboys offense.
Rookie quarterback Dak Prescott, who has helped lead Dallas to its 10-1 record, said he expects Minnesota's defense to be one of the Cowboys biggest challenges of the season.
"They're ranked high in pretty much every category defensively, and the numbers don't lie," Prescott told Twin Cities media members during a conference call Sunday. "If you watch film, the stats tell it all. We're excited for it. We know they're a good team, and we're ready for a good matchup."
Cowboys Head Coach Jason Garrett said one of the marquee 1-on-1 matchups of the contest will be Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes and Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant, who has 33 catches for 550 yards and five touchdowns over eight games played this season.
Garrett said Rhodes is "just a really good player" who's physically talented.
"He's big, he's athletic, he's an excellent cover guy, he plays the game the right way," Garrett said. "The biggest thing for us, we have to focus on ourselves, and in Dez's case, knowing what he needs to do on each play to help us execute and play winning football. And if that means an opportunity to win on a route and get the ball thrown to him, certainly do that, and then if it's to block or do something else, that's where he needs to keep his focus.
"He's done an excellent job of that this year," Garrett added of Bryant. "He gets a lot of attention from opposing defenses, and he just stays locked in and continues to execute. He's done a really good job for our team."
View images of the Dallas Cowboys (10-1) key contributors of offense, defense and special teams heading into Thursday Night's matchup at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Dak Prescott is having a stellar rookie season in Dallas. He has 2,835 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and a passer rating of 108.6 in his first 11 games as a pro.
Garrett holds a career 55-44 regular-season record as the Cowboys Head Coach.
Bailey is (20-for-22 on field goals) this season (90.9 percent%), including (3-for-3) on field goals from 50-plus yards.
Elliott has already eclipsed Cowboys Hall of Fame RB Emmitt Smith (937) for the most rushing yards by a Dallas rookie (1,199 yards).
Church has 45 combined tackles, one forced fumble and two interceptions for the Cowboys in seven games played this season.
Smith is the leader of the Cowboys offensive line. Earlier this week Vikings Head Coach called Smith the "best lineman in the NFL.".
Bryant has 268 receiving yards and three touchdowns in the Cowboys past three games.
Lee leads the Cowboys in tackles this season (105 combined).
Witten is second on the Cowboys all-time receiving list with 11,768 yards. He is in his 14th season in the NFL.
In his fifth season in Dallas, Beasley has a career-high of 647 receiving yards.
Here are some highlights of what the Cowboys said about the Vikings this week:
Garrett on memories of Mike Zimmer during his time in Dallas:
"Just great respect for Zim – an outstanding coach and someone I learned a great deal from. He's one of those guys that made a lot of individual guys better, he made our defense better, he made our team better. I've known him for a long time, and I've learned a great deal from him, and he's certainly an outstanding coach. I consider myself one of the guys that benefited from his coaching.
"He's just an excellent coach – great intensity, always prepared individuals and our defense really, really well, his units always played great, and I just think he contributed in so many different ways and was certainly well respected by the other coaching staff and the guys in our locker room."
Cowboys tight end Jason Witten on**former teammate**Trae Waynes:
"Terence was a special guy. That was the class of '03, and I really enjoyed our nine years together. He was always a really talented guy. And I think that's always something you remember about players, guys you came in with from the draft. We were rookies under [Bill Parcells'] system, the first year in that system, and it was a whirlwind for us. But to be where he's at, I just commend him on the work that he's done playing the position he does – it's not easy to do. He's had a really good career, and I'm glad to see him still playing at a high level."
*Cowboys Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan on game-planning for Vikings: *
"It doesn't matter who we play – we approach it the same way. We certainly know they're a great defense and they're able to do a lot of things just from their ability as players and the scheme that they run. We really don't approach them differently.
"They have great players on defense. They get a lot of players around the football. They're usually a team that plays hard, hustles […] and good things happen for them. So we have to be equally as good with our ability to get people around the football – protect the ball players and play aggressive football."
Bryant on Rhodes:
"I think he's an outstanding football player. He's big, strong, physical, and you have to bring your 'A' game when you're going up against a guy like that."
Elliott on prepping for Minnesota's defense:
"They're a very good team, and they're good at what they do. They don't do a lot of different things, they sort of stick to what they do. They don't really change, because they're good. They're very sound, they don't really lose gaps, they don't make mistakes. It's going to come down to execution."
