The Minnesota Vikings hit the road for a primetime game against the Dallas Cowboys. Minnesota’s season ended earlier in the day, when the Chicago Bears beat Shedeur Sanders and the Cleveland Browns, eliminating any slight chance the Vikings had of making the playoffs.

Some would expect them to roll over to a team that had something to play for (however improbable). But this was more reminiscent of the 2021 Detroit Lions, who were already eliminated, beating the Green Bay Packers to play spoiler and record a culture-building win.

The night would start off just as bleak as the entire season had, with McCarthy throwing a tipped ball that fell right into the hands of a waiting Cowboys defensive lineman. Much like the season, just when it looked like the defense would make a needed stop for this team, the special teams didn’t make things better after allowing Dallas to convert a fake field goal into a first down.

Despite how poorly the game started, McCarthy and the offense bounced back and showed some of the elements of his game that both Vikings fans and coaches had been eager to see.

McCarthy put up possibly the best performance of his young career after the unfortunate interception on the first series of the game, hitting a bevy of deep throws and showing just how good he could look when playing his style of football and staying loose.

After taking the lead in the third quarter, the Vikings wouldn’t relinquish the lead, and they iced the game on a 53-yard Will Reichard kick after outkicking the NFL’s best kicker Brandon Aubrey.

(Also — bonus number — this is the first time the Vikings, Wild, and Timberwolves have won on the same day since December 20, 2003.)

Here are five numbers to break down the game

51

Minnesota’s first turnover of the game came 51 seconds into the game.

Last week, the biggest positive takeaway for Vikings fans was the clean, ball-control offense this team played. Fans who hoped to see more of that would be disappointed almost immediately, as McCarthy threw an interception on his first dropback.

The interception wasn’t entirely McCarthy’s fault. The ball was tipped and improbably found itself in the hands of a Cowboys defensive lineman. Still, it highlighted McCarthy’s issue with tipped passes.

Things would turn from bad to worse on the opening drive when the Cowboys dared to fake a field goal on a fourth-and-long and somehow converted it. The defense would be unable to hold again, giving the Cowboys a touchdown.

The offense continued to be dogged by self-inflicted issues, just like they have all season. While it is more humorous than infuriating now that playoffs are impossible, it doesn’t bode well for further progression from players who need to prove something.

5

Justin Jefferson has now had five games where he hasn’t caught a pass in the first quarter.

Coming into this week, a lot of the talk has been about how Jefferson has had a down past two weeks, recording only 15 yards on four catches. However, he hasn’t made a big fuss, unlike most receivers of his caliber. O’Connell and McCarthy have also stated that there would be an effort to get No. 18 the ball more.

They tried on the first dropback, but it ended up in the 10th interception on a Jefferson target this season. For the rest of the first quarter, they were unable to get the ball into his hands. Even when it looked like Jefferson had finally broken his scoreless streak in the second quarter, it was unfortunately called back.

This season hasn’t been exactly what Jefferson would have wanted. However, his ability to stay calm through everything and to lead this team, despite the struggles, has been a testament to the player, leader, and person he is.

⅘

McCarthy was exceptional on deep balls, going four of five on passes of 20 or more yards. Last week, we saw just how good McCarthy was when he was asked to work in rhythm and take what the defense gives him. This week, we saw just how good he can be when asked to air it out.

It started on the touchdown pass when McCarthy rolled out of the pocket to hit Jalen Nailor in the endzone for the first score of the game. Though the mechanics of the throw looked less than ideal, the throw itself was a thing of beauty, zipped right into a spot where only Nailor could get it.

McCarthy would flash his deep ball, hitting Jordan Addison on a 58-yard pass that eventually led to a touchdown on the drive. He also made an impressive pass up the middle, hitting Hockenson with a fastball right up the seam.

While yes, there still are things that need to be fixed — the intermediate pass, throwing with touch, and McCarthy’s overall mechanics — but the deep ball provides both fans and coaches something to get excited about moving forward.

3/3

The Vikings’ offense was money in the tightest of spots, going three for three on fourth down. One big issue that fans have had all season is Kevin O’Connell’s playcalling on third-and-short and fourth-and-short. A play that comes to mind would be the Brosmer pick-six against the Seattle Seahawks.

This week, KOC managed to strike the exact balance of innovation and common sense, as he was money on that down. The first play call on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line was a thing of beauty as O’Connell drew up a bootleg run for McCarthy that resulted in No. 9 griddying his way into the endzone untouched.

The second fourth-down play would be something that was a little bit more of McCarthy making something happen, as Jalen Nailor and he connected for 22 yards as Nailor found his way open on a scramble drill that resulted in a first down.

On the final fourth down of the game, a fourth-and-one near midfield to take it past the two-minute warning, instead of looking to get funky with it, O’Connell took advantage of a Cowboys defensive line without Quinnen Williams in the middle as he gave the handoff to Aaron Jones, who took it up the gut for a first down to all but ice the game.

While a lot of this season has been about McCarthy growing as a quarterback, we have also seen O’Connell evolve as a quarterback whisperer and a playcaller.

21

The Vikings terrorized Dak all day, recording 21 pressures on him. The Cowboys, much like the Vikings, came into this week without their starting left tackle and would need to protect their quarterback.

Brian Flores and the Vikings’ defensive line tormented them all game, with Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkle, and Dallas Turner finding themselves in the backfield pressuring Prescott. Yes, they only recorded two sacks, but getting Prescott off kilter was just as important as he struggled to hit George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb downfield late in the game.

Conversely, the Vikings’ offensive line had possibly its best game of the season, even without Christian Darrisaw, allowing no sacks and, after the first snap, fairly minimal pressure. The Vikings ended up winning the battle of the trenches on both sides of the ball, something that we haven’t seen all season.