The Dallas Cowboys visited Minnesota on Thursday night, bringing their NFL-best record and a ten-game winning streak. They left town with their streak still intact, but it came down to the last minute of the game to secure the win.
With Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer resting at home after emergency eye surgery, special teams co-ordinator Mike Priefer was acting head coach, to allow offensive co-ordinator Pat Shurmur and defensive co-ordinator George Edwards to concentrate on their respective areas of responsibility. The Vikings got a few key players back from injury, with wide receiver Stefon Diggs and cornerback Terence Newman both suited up for the game.
The game was very close from start to finish, which meant that minor miscues could have huge ramifications on the scoreboard. I missed most of the first quarter, but my Twitter feed provided all the “T.J. Clemmings is garbage” content during that time to assure me that things were back to their putrid normal on the offensive line. Cowboys quarterback phenomenon was shown to be merely human through most of the game, and his biggest contributions to keeping drives alive were on scrambles (aided by some pretty blatant holding on the offensive line, especially against Brian Robison).
Both of the Cowboys’ touchdowns came after a minor glitch gave Dallas an opportunity and they were able to capitalize. Other than that, the Vikings defence kept the lid on all game. One was a mistake in coverage, as Harrison Smith was too aggressive in covering Dez Bryant, and the second was a fumbled punt by Adam Thielen deep inside Viking territory.
The Vikings were driving to tie the game in the final minute, but an offensive line penalty on the two-point try followed by a missed roughing the passer call on fourth down gave the Cowboys the ball in the final seconds of the game.
What a drive, but:
Blow to the head? Yes or no?https://t.co/dWVGWEsn62 pic.twitter.com/cbKHbssEB1
— KFAN1003 (@KFAN1003) December 2, 2016
USA Today‘s Tom Pelissero looks at the non-call in context:
Brandon Fusco was on his way out of the Minnesota Vikings’ locker room Thursday night when he was shown video of Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Cedric Thornton’s right hand smacking Sam Bradford’s facemask on a late, failed 2-point conversion.
“Oh, my gosh!” exclaimed Fusco, the Vikings’ soft-spoken guard. “They shouldn’t have missed that. I didn’t realize it was that bad.”
On the other end of the room, Vikings defensive end Brian Robison ranted that he’s “sick and tired of the reffing in this league right now” and singled out the hit on Bradford, who could be seen asking referee Tony Corrente for a flag after a play that all but sealed the Cowboys’ 17-15 win.
What was Corrente’s explanation?
“He told me that I did not get hit in the facemask,” Bradford said, making a face that conveyed his incredulity at the answer.
And this is where the question needs to be asked, again:
How much longer can the NFL push back at the idea of allowing plays like this – specifically, called or uncalled penalties at critical junctures of the game – to be subject to replay review, allowing officials and the league office to get it right based on the same video 66,860 fans in the stadium and millions more at home get to see almost instantly?
The non-call might not have affected the final result: a must-make two point conversion to force overtime is hardly a sure thing (especially for the Vikings), but it ended one of the best Thursday night games in memory on a sour note.
From an echo chamber, Matthew Coller and Derek Wetmore of 1500ESPN discuss the game:
