Vikings at Cowboys final score 23-27: Romo leads Cowboys to comeback win
By Mike Dyce
The Minnesota Vikings traveled to Texas looking for their second win of the season. The Dallas Cowboys are trying to bounce back from a tough loss to the Detroit Lions last week. The game features two former Oklahoma Sooners running backs: Adrian Peterson for the Vikings and DeMarco Murray for the Cowboys.
The first quarter was a pretty slow developing an uneventful quarter. The Vikings and Cowboys exchanged field goals. Midway through the second quarter the Dallas Cowboys and Dan Bailey added another field goal to take a three-point lead.
Towards the end of the second quarter the Vikings were the first team to find the end zone, and ultimately took a 10-6 lead they’d hold into the end of the half. The touchdown came on a six-yard touchdown run from quarterback Christian Ponder. It is the third rushing touchdown the Cowboys have allowed to a quarterback. Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning scored on a naked bootleg and Matthew Stafford scored the game-winning touchdown on a one-yard dive last week.
On the opening drive of the second half, the Cowboys scored a touchdown to reclaim the lead. The drive ended in back-to-back 26 yard receptions by tight end Jason Witten. The latter of course being the scoring play.
On the following possession, less than 10 seconds later, the Cowboys sacked Ponder in the end zone. He fumbled and the Cowboys’ Nick Hayden recovered the fumble for the touchdown to get a 20-10 lead.
On the following drive, the Vikings marched down the field and got a touchdown to get back in the game. The score was on a 31-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph. He shed multiple Cowboys defenders en route to the end zone. The Vikings continued to take the momentum in the fourth quarter.
Adrian Peterson, who group up near Dallas, broke a 52-yard run in the fourth quarter. After a couple more plays Peterson scored on an impressive 11-yard touchdown run that saw him dragging multiple Cowboys defenders into the end zone to take a 23-20 lead.
On the Cowboys next possession, Romo threw an interception, Fortunately, the Cowboys were able to hold the Vikings and put them in a 4th and 5 situation. They could’ve attempted a 54-yard field goal or punted, instead the Vikings went for it with 3:04 left in the game.
It is eerily similar to a call the Cowboys faced against the Lions last weekend. The Cowboys took the field goal, and the Lions scored on the following possession to win the game.
The Vikings were bluffing and trying to draw the Cowboys offside, they didn’t bite so the Vikings took the delay of game penalty and sent their punter out that resulted in Dwayne Harris calling a fair catch at the ten-yard line.
The drive started with a pass to Jason Witten for 11 yards. He stayed in bounds and the clock kept moving. Dwayne Harris caught a six-yard pass on the next play to take the Cowboys to the 27-yard line as they reached the tw0-minute warning.
The Cowboys went into a hurry up offense and the first play was an 18-yard completion to Cole Beasley. Rookie Terrance Williams dropped the pass on the next play but the incompletion stopped the clock.
On the next play, Romo hit wide receiver Dez Bryant for a big 34 yard reception on a slant route up the middle. Romo went back to Beasley on the next play and he caught a 9-yard pass and got out-of-bounds to stop the clock with 55 seconds left on the clock. A couple of plays later, Romo hit Dwayne Harris on a 7-yard slant for the touchdown and go-ahead score.
The Cowboys used a squib kick on the kickoff to try and get the clock running. Vikings running back Toby Gerhart returned it 20 yards to the Vikings’ 42-yard line. Ponder through an incomplete pass on first down, then on the next drive was sacked and fumbled. The Vikings recovered and it was third and 17 with 15 seconds left.
Ponder completed a pass to Carlson for 12 yards and they called a time out with 10 seconds left, giving them a fourth and five situation. They converted for the first down and called their last time out to leave two seconds on the clock. That gave the Vikings a single shot at the end zone from 47 yards away.
Ponder threw it short and the Cowboys won the game.