DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys are fresh off a bye week but will begin the busiest part of their schedule with three games in twelve days beginning with a Week 11 contest in Minnesota against the Vikings on Sunday. The Cowboys currently maintain just a one-game lead in the all-time series.
Here are 100 more facts and stats as Dallas hopes to prevent the Vikings from tying the series in the 32nd meeting between these two franchises:
SERIES FACTS (11)
-The Cowboys are 2-7 for the sixth time in team history. None of those teams made the playoffs. However, the 1988 team did end up with the No. 1 overall pick.
-Since 1990, the last time playoff formats were reformatted, 0 of 105 teams that started 3-7 made the playoffs.
-Since 1990, 0 of 76 teams that started 2-8 made the playoffs.
-The Vikings are 4-5 for the ninth time in franchise history. 1 of 8 of those previous teams made the playoffs: 1980.
-Since 1990, 42 of 151 teams that started 5-5 made the playoffs with 16 of those teams having won the division.
-Since 1990, 11 of 168 teams that started 4-6 made the playoffs with 2 of 11 of those teams taking the division crown.
-The Cowboys are 1-6 against the Vikings in November with an 0-1 record on the road.
-The Cowboys are 10-7 against Minnesota on the road. Here is the breakdown by venue:
Metropolitan Stadium: 6-1
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome: 3-6
U.S. Bank Stadium: 1-0
-The Vikings are 1 of 3 teams that the Cowboys have faced in every round of the NFC playoffs. The other two teams are the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams.
-Since 1970, the Cowboys are 169-127 in late afternoon games with a 59-68 record on the road.
-Since 1970, the Vikings are 62-72-1 in late afternoon games with a 23-20-1 record at home.
ANDY DALTON FACTS (8)
-Dalton is 1 of 4 quarterbacks this season to have made multiple starts and not yet reach 100 pass attempts.
-Dalton is 1-1 against the Vikings with an 0-1 record on the road.
-Dalton has had five games where he has thrown four touchdown passes. One of those games was against the Vikings (Dec. 22, 2013).
-Dalton’s 363 passing yards from the 2013 game against Minnesota was the ninth-most in his career.
-Dalton’s 136.2 passer rating in the 2013 encounter with the Vikings was the fifth-highest of his career.
-In Dalton’s last complete game (Oct. 19, 2020), his 54 pass attempts were tied for his second-highest in a single game.
-Dalton has a 46.9 passer rating on first down.
-Dalton has a 64.4 passer rating on third down.
KIRK COUSINS FACTS (10)
-Cousins has given up the second-most interceptions in the league with 11.
-Cousins has the highest yards per pass attempt at 8.8.
-Cousins has produced the third-highest intended air yards per pass attempt at 9.0.
-Cousins has collected the second-highest completed air yards per pass attempt at 4.9.
-Cousins’ 13.3 yards per completion total is the highest in the league.
-Cousins has the second-highest completed air yards per completion at 7.4.
-Cousins benefits from 5.9 yards after the catch per completion, the eighth-most in the league.
-Cousins is tied with Josh Allen, Carson Wentz, and Cam Newton for the third-longest time to throw in the pocket at 2.6 seconds.
-Among quarterbacks with double-digit red zone touchdown passes, Cousins is 1 of 12 quarterbacks who has yet to throw a red-zone pick.
-Cousins is the only quarterback this season who has led his team on a game-winning drive but has produced no fourth-quarter comebacks.
EZEKIEL ELLIOTT (10)
-Elliott is tied for the ninth-most rushing touchdowns with five.
-Elliott is tied with Kyler Murray for the fourth-most first downs gained on the ground with 39.
-Among running backs with at least 100 carries, Elliott’s 3.8 yards per carry are tied for the fifth-fewest in the NFL.
-Elliott is tied for the seventh-most fumbles with five, and leads the NFL among running backs.
-Elliott is just outside the top-10 in rushing yards with 572 (11th).
-Among running backs with at least 100 carries, Elliott is tied for the fourth-lowest yards before contact on average at 1.8.
-Elliott has the ninth-most yards after contact at 295.
-Elliott is tied with James Conner for the 10th-most broken tackles with 11.
-Elliott is tied for the ninth-most rushing touchdowns in the red zone with five.
-Elliott has taken the sixth-most rushing attempts in the red zone with 27.
DALVIN COOK (7)
-Dalvin Cook has the most rushing yards in the league with 954.
-Cook leads the NFL with 12 rushing touchdowns, but he also leads the NFL in combined rushing and receiving scores with 13.
-Cook has picked up the most first downs on the ground with 51.
-Among running backs with at least 100 carries, Cook’s 5.5 yards per carry leads the league.
-Cook has gained 456 yards before contact, the most of any running back this season. Only Kyler Murray’s 531 leads the NFL among all players.
-Cook has the second-most yards after contact with 498.
-Cook has the most broken tackles this year with 24. Next closest is Derrick Henry with 19.
MIKE MCCARTHY FACTS (9)
-McCarthy has gone 9-4 coming off a bye with a 5-3 record on the road in his career.
-McCarthy is 53-23-2 against the NFC North with a 25-14 record on the road.
-McCarthy is 16-9-2 against the Vikings with a 7-6 record on the road.
-McCarthy has never won (0-3) at U.S. Bank Stadium.
-McCarthy’s team has a record of 2-7 for the first time in his career.
-McCarthy is 25-31-1 in November with a 12-20 record on the road.
-McCarthy is 6-15-1 with backup quarterbacks with a 2-8-1 record on the road.
-McCarthy is 65-51-1 against playoff-winning coaches with a 25-37 record on the road.
-McCarthy has been able to snap a losing streak 15 of 29 times.
MIKE ZIMMER FACTS (10)
-Zimmer, Jerry Burns, and Mike Tice are the only Vikings coaches to have defeated the Cowboys in their first try.
-In what should have been Zimmer’s first game against the Cowboys on Dec. 1, 2016, Zimmer missed the game due to emergency eye surgery the day before. Dallas won 17-15.
-Zimmer is the ninth former Cowboys coordinator to face Dallas. Ex-Cowboys coordinators are 17-30-1 against their former team. Here is the list:
Sean Payton: 5-3
Dan Reeves: 5-8
Norv Turner: 4-9
Dave Wannstedt: 1-2
Dick Nolan: 1-5-1
Butch Davis: 0-1
Dave Shula: 0-1
Tony Sparano: 0-1
Mike Zimmer: 1-0
-Zimmer is 8-3 against the NFC East with a 5-0 record at home.
-Zimmer is 5-4-1 against Mike McCarthy with a 3-2 record at home.
-Last season, the Vikings were 9-2 indoors, home, and away. This season, they are 2-4 indoors, home and away.
-Zimmer is 22 for 42 on challenges for his career with a 3 for 4 rate in 2020.
-Zimmer is 17-8 in November with a 9-3 record at home.
-The Vikings under Zimmer are tied with the Chargers for the seventh-fewest penalties in 2020 with 47.
-The Vikings’ 47 penalties are the fewest of the Zimmer era through the first nine games.
BROADCAST FACTS (6)
-Cowboys vs. Vikings games have been televised on every available TV network. Here is Dallas’ record against Minnesota by network:
CBS: 11-4
FOX: 2-6
ABC: 1-4
ESPN: 0-1
NBC: 1-1
NFL Network: 1-0*
*simulcast of an NBC game on Dec. 1, 2016.
-Dallas is 142-130 all-time on FOX, including the postseason.
-Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma will be calling the action for FOX, making them the 25th different play-by-play team to call a game in the series.
-The Cowboys are 16-11 when Kenny Albert calls their games.
-The Cowboys and Vikings are getting Vilma for the first time in their games.
-This is the 11th late afternoon game in the series and the fifth such game in Minnesota.
BILL VINOVICH FACTS (11)
-This week’s referee is Bill Vinovich. Dallas is 7-6 with Vinovich making the calls. Here are the results:
2004 – @CIN, 3-26 – L
2004 – WAS, 13-10 – W
2005 – PHI, 33-10 – W
2006 – Colts, 21-14 – W
2012 – @CIN, 20-19 – W
2013 – @DET, 30-31 – L
2014 – @NYG, 31-28 – W
2015 – NYG, 27-26 – W
2015 – @TB, 6-10 – L
2016 – @WAS, 27-23 – W
2017 – PHI, 9-37 – L
2018 – @HTX, 16-19 – L-OT
2019 – BUF, 15-26 – L
-The Cowboys have had fewer penalties than their opposition 8/13 times with Vinovich:
2004 – CIN: 4/20; DAL: 7/46
2004 – WAS: 8/69; DAL: 1/13
2005 – PHI: 8/54; DAL: 5/48
2006 – CLT: 5/35; DAL: 7/53
2012 – CIN: 8/70; DAL: 6/49
2013 – DET: 8/61; DAL: 2/31
2014 – NYG: 5/30; DAL: 7/63
2015 – NYG: 5/44; DAL: 3/35
2015 – TB: 7/62; DAL: 6/68
2016 – WAS: 8/51; DAL: 6/39
2017 – PHI: 3/30; DAL: 2/10
2018 – HTX: 5/25; DAL: 7/72
2019 – BUF: 7/53; DAL: 5/66
-Vinovich refereed games are tied for the eighth-highest home team winning percentage (.500) in the league.
-Vinovich’s crew is tied for the ninth-highest percentage (.500) of home teams having fewer penalties.
-The Vikings are 6-5-1 with Vinovich as the referee:
2004 – SEA, 23-27 – L
2005 – DET, 27-14 – W
2006 – NYJ, 13-26 – L
2013 – @GB, 26-26 – T
2015 – DET, 26-16 – W
2015 – @GB, 20-13 – W
2017 – DET, 7-14 – L
2017 – @WAS, 38-30 – W
2018 – GB, 24-17 – W
2019 – ATL, 28-12 – W
2019 – GB, 10-23 – L
2020 – GB, 34-43 – L
-The Vikings have had fewer penalties 6/12 times:
2004 – SEA: 5/79; MIN: 5/42
2005 – DET: 6/31; MIN: 3/18
2006 – NYJ: 7/55; MIN: 8/56
2013 – GB: 7/50; MIN: 5/53
2015 – DET: 6/39; MIN: 10/97
2015 – GB: 7/54; MIN: 5/37
2017 – DET: 6/60; MIN: 2/10
2017 – WAS: 2/15; MIN: 3/40
2018 – GB: 4/20; MIN: 6/55
2019 – ATL: 9/78; MIN: 11/100
2019 – GB: 2/20: MIN: 3/30
2020 – GB: 6/63; MIN: 5/20
-Vinovich’s games have tied for the eight-most sacks (4.6) per game.
-Vinovich’s crew averages the second-fewest offensive holding calls (1.1) per game.
-Under Vinovich, the Cowboys have won 2 of 7 of their coaches challenges compared to their opponents winning 3 of 7 coaches challenges. Additionally, Replay Assistant is 2 for 7 on challenges with only two of those rulings benefiting the Cowboys.
-With Vinovich, the Vikings are 5 for 8 on challenges with the opposition going 3 for 3. Replay Assistant is 0 for 1 with that call not benefiting Minnesota.
-Vinovich is tied for the third-highest challenge overturn rate at .800 (4 of 5).
MISCELLANEOUS FACTS (18)
-Dallas is tied with the Cincinnati Bengals for the second-most yards per carry allowed at 5.0.
-The Vikings are tied with the New York Jets and Los Angeles Rams for the ninth-fewest yards per carry allowed at 4.1.
-The Cowboys give up 157.0 yards per game, the second-most in the NFL.
-Opponents have compiled a 103.1 passer rating against the Cowboys defense, the fifth-most in the NFL.
-Opponents have compiled a 99.7 passer rating against the Vikings defense, the seventh-most in the league.
-The Dallas defense is tied with the Packers for the second-fewest takeaways in the NFL with seven.
-The Cowboys have given up 938 yards after the catch, the fifth-fewest in the league.
-Dallas is tied with the Chicago Bears for the eighth-fewest blitzes with 83.
-Jaylon Smith has secured the fifth-most combined tackles in the league with 89.
-Adam Thielen is tied for the fifth-most drops this season with six.
-Thielen and rookie Justin Jefferson are tied for the second-most interceptions thrown on their targets with four apiece.
-Amari Cooper has the 10th-most catches in the NFL with 59.
-Among receivers with at least 50 catches, Cooper’s two touchdown catches are tied with Cooper Kupp for the second-fewest.
-The Cowboys have run 681 offensive plays, the most in the NFL, and they have only played nine games. Second-closest are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with 668, and they have played 10 games.
-Dallas still leads the NFL with a turnover percentage per drive at 19.6%.
-The Cowboys hold a 10-6 on Nov. 22. Here are the results:
1964 – @WAS, 16-28 – L
1970 – @WAS, 45-21 – W
1973 – MIA, 7-14 – L
1979 – Oilers, 24-30 – L
1981 – WAS, 24-10 – W
1984 – NE, 20-17 – W
1987 – MIA, 14-20 – L
1990 – WAS, 27-17 – W
1992 – @Cardinals, 16-10 – W
1998 – SEA, 30-22 – W
2001 – DEN, 24-26 – L
2007 – NYJ, 34-3 – W
2009 – WAS, 7-6 – W
2012 – WAS, 31-38 – L
2015 – @MIA, 24-14 – W
2018 – WAS, 31-23 – W
-The Vikings are 5-1-1 on Nov. 22. Here are the results:
1964 – @DET, 23-23 – T
1970 – GB, 10-3 – W
1987 – ATL, 24-13 – W
1992 – CLE, 17-13 – W
1998 – GB, 28-14 – W
2009 – SEA, 35-9 – W
2015 – GB, 13-30 – L
-The Cowboys have seven birthdays to celebrate on Nov. 22, including that of defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford, who turns 31 Sunday:
1934 – Don McIlhenny, RB, 1960-61
1962 – Steve Deossie, LB, 1984-88
1963 – Mike Zentic, C, 1987
1968 – Darryl Hardy, LB, 1995 & 1997
1975 – Ryan Neufeld, TE, 1999
1979 – Keith Adams, LB, 2001-02
1989 – Tyrone Crawford, DE, 2012-present
Did you know that the Cowboys began this all-time series against the Vikings 4-0 without losing once during the 1960s? Share your favorite facts with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.
