7 takeaways from the Vikings win over the Cowboys in Week 10

Minnesota’s run defense steps up without Joseph

In what appeared to be a big blow to the Vikings this week, the defense had to take the field on Sunday night without veteran defensive tackle Linval Joseph.

Joseph hurt his knee earlier in the week and his injury was severe enough that it prevented him from playing against the Cowboys. Heading into a matchup against a Dallas rushing attack that features Ezekiel Elliott, Minnesota not having their top nose tackle seemed like it could result in some pretty large problems for their defense.

However, the Vikings did an excellent job on Sunday night at keeping Elliott and the rest of the Cowboys’ rushing offense in check.

Dallas’ top running back did have 20 carries during the matchup, but it only resulted in him gaining a total of 47 yards on the ground. Overall, Minnesota held the Cowboys to just 50 rushing yards during the entire game.

Their performance against the Dallas rushing attack without Joseph on Sunday night is a good sign for the Vikings moving forward. Especially since the Minnesota defensive tackle is reportedly expected to miss some time after undergoing knee surgery last week.