The Hall of Fame wide receiver always seemed to kick his play up a notch whenever he helped the Minnesota Vikings defeat the Dallas Cowboys during his career.
Before he was eventually selected by the Minnesota Vikings, many thought that former Marshall wide receiver Randy Moss was going to be taken by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1998 NFL Draft.
However, the Cowboys decided to pass on Moss and they used their first-round selection on former North Carolina defensive end Greg Ellis instead. Despite Ellis going on to be a solid pass rusher during his time with Dallas, he was no Moss.
After the Cowboys decided not to draft him, the freakish receiver seemed to make them pay for their decision whenever he got the opportunity to go up against them. During his career with the Vikings, Moss faced off against Dallas six times and he led Minnesota to a victory in each game.
The numbers he put up against the Cowboys were astronomically impressive. In the six instances in which Moss took on Dallas in a Vikings uniform (including one playoff matchup), he hauled in a total of 30 passes for 607 yards and 10 touchdowns.
So which performance against the Cowboys by the Hall of Fame receiver should be regarded as his absolute best?
2004 (Week 1)
Stats:
- 4 catches
- 27 yards
- 2 touchdowns
To kick off their 2004 season, Randy Moss and the Vikings welcomed the Cowboys to the Twin Cities for a late-afternoon matchup inside the Metrodome.
As the Dallas defensive coordinator for this game, current Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer had to figure out a way to shut down Moss. For the most part, Zimmer’s defense did a pretty good job. But not when it came to keeping Moss out of the end zone.
After the Vikings receiver was held to just one catch for 10 yards in the first half, he was able to cause more problems for the Cowboys’ defense in the game’s final two quarters. On Minnesota’s opening drive of the second half, a big pass interference penalty put them on the goal line and Moss ended up hauling in a three-yard touchdown pass from Daunte Culpepper to put the Vikings ahead 21-10.
Then on Minnesota’s very next offensive drive, Moss not only tossed a 37-yard pass to fellow receiver Marcus Robinson, but he added another touchdown to his total for the day on a one-yard toss from Culpepper.
It certainly wasn’t Moss’ most explosive performance of his career, but his two trips to the end zone played a big part in the Vikings walking off the field with a 35-17 win over Dallas.
1999 (Week 9)
Stats:
- 6 catches
- 91 yards
- 2 touchdowns
With the Vikings coming off a magical season in 1998, the NFL figured a Monday night matchup against the Cowboys in 1999 had the potential to be one of the year’s best games. However, Minnesota came into the matchup with just a 4-4 record and Dallas wasn’t much better as they were only 4-3.
Things weren’t looking too good for the Vikings at first as the Cowboys stormed out to a 17-0 lead midway through the second quarter. But luckily for Minnesota, they had this guy Randy Moss on their roster.
Moss was shut out for most of the first half, but his four-yard touchdown catch near the end of the second quarter gave the Vikings life and it cut their deficit to 10 points as they headed in the locker room for halftime.
Minnesota played much better in the second half and midway through the fourth quarter they were leading Dallas by a score of 20-17. The Vikings then sealed the win when quarterback Jeff George launched a 47-yard bomb down the field that landed in the hands of Moss for a big touchdown.
Just when the Cowboys started to think they were doing well at keeping the talented receiver in check, he caught them sleeping and made a trip to the end zone that resulted in Minnesota earning a 27-17 victory.
1999 (Playoffs)
Stats:
- 5 catches
- 127 yards
- 1 touchdown
Dallas got another crack at Randy Moss when they went up against the Vikings in the first round of the 1999 NFC Playoffs. Facing Moss earlier in the season didn’t seem to do much good for the Cowboys as the Minnesota receiver ended up having an even better performance this time around.
With the score tied at 10 late in the second quarter, Jeff George launched a 58-yard pass that easily landed in the hands of Moss, who then backpedaled his way into the end zone for a Vikings touchdown. Dallas even had the Minnesota receiver double-covered on the play, but it didn’t matter.
Moss ended up catching a few more passes during the game and he even returned a few punts as well. In fact, he ended up returning the most punts of any Vikings player in 1999 and he even ran one back for a touchdown.
Moss’ efforts in this playoff showdown were able to propel Minnesota to their second win of the year over the Cowboys, who never had any answer when it came to stopping the Hall of Fame receiver.
2000 (Week 13)
Stats:
- 7 catches
- 144 yards
- 2 touchdowns
Randy Moss seemed to usually step up his level of play whenever he was in the national spotlight and especially if any of these matchups came against the Cowboys.
In 2000, Moss and the Vikings traveled to Dallas to face the Cowboys on Thanksgiving for the second time in three seasons. The Minnesota receiver demolished Dallas in his first-career Thanksgiving showdown against the Cowboys in 1998 and he looked to have a similar performance during this matchup.
Dallas did a good job at keeping Moss out of the end zone in the first half. However, his 52-yard catch towards the end of the second quarter ultimately led to the Vikings scoring their first touchdown of the day.
Then came the second half and Moss found his way into the end zone twice. The first came on a seven-yard pass from Minnesota quarterback Daunte Culpepper early in the third quarter and then Culpepper found Moss again two drives later when the pair connected for a 36-yard touchdown.
Both catches were things of beauty and each displayed the elite level of skill that the Vikings receiver possessed. The Cowboys were just left standing with their hands in the air as their coverage on both plays really couldn’t have been better, Moss was just that good.
His second touchdown catch gave Minnesota an 18-point lead and they eventually walked off the field in Dallas with a 27-15 win.
1998 (Week 13)
Stats:
- 3 catches
- 163 yards
- 3 touchdowns
Three catches, that is all. That is all Randy Moss needed in his very first opportunity to go up against the Cowboys to prove to them that they made a gigantic mistake when they decided to pass on him in the NFL Draft earlier that year.
In a matchup that took place on Thanksgiving, the whole world got to see Moss destroy the Dallas defense with his blazing speed and jaw-dropping leaping ability.
The Vikings got the ball first in this contest and it took just three plays before their dynamic rookie receiver found his way to the end zone.
Minnesota quarterback Randall Cunningham tossed a 51-yard pass down the field and it landed in the hands of a wide-open Moss. He easily made the catch and galloped into the end zone for his first touchdown of the afternoon.
The Vikings rookie receiver was just getting started though. Later in the first quarter, Moss blew by Cowboys cornerback Kevin Smith and hauled in a 58-yard pass from Cunningham for another score.
Even after this touchdown catch, he still wasn’t done tearing apart the Dallas defense. Near the end of the third quarter, Moss caught a short five-yard pass and proceed to turn it into a 56-yard touchdown after he flew down the sideline past every Cowboys defender on the field.
The Vikings eventually left Dallas with a 46-36 win and the Cowboys were probably just thankful that Moss only caught three touchdowns and not 10 because they had no idea how to keep the talented rookie out of the end zone.