10 quick thoughts on the Vikings loss to the Cowboys in Week 8

After leading for the majority of the game, the Minnesota Vikings saw a win slip away from them and into the hands of the Dallas Cowboys.

Before Sunday night’s matchup even began, the Minnesota Vikings caught a huge break when it was announced that the Dallas Cowboys were going to be without starting quarterback Dak Prescott.

With Prescott out, most assumed the Vikings could pull off an upset over the 5-1 Cowboys inside U.S. Bank Stadium. Dallas had other plans though.

With their No. 2 quarterback, Cooper Rush, leading the way, the Cowboys left the field on Sunday night with a 20-16 win over Minnesota. With the loss, the Vikings are now 3-4 this season.

Quick thoughts on the Vikings loss to the Cowboys

Hunter’s injury is a big concern – Near the end of the first half on Sunday, it was revealed that Danielle Hunter had suffered a shoulder injury. Hunter was taken to the locker room in the second quarter and he was then listed as questionable for the remainder of the matchup.

Minnesota will be able to find out more about his injury during the upcoming week. But if it ends up forcing Hunter to miss any time, it will be a huge blow to the Vikings’ pass rush.

End of first half remains frustrating – It probably wouldn’t matter if Minnesota had an endless amount of timeouts, they would figure out a way to waste an offensive possession during the final minute of the second quarter.

It happened again on Sunday when the Vikings’ offense took the field with two timeouts on their own 15-yard line. Minnesota ran four plays, gained 18 yards, and scored zero points on the drive. Unfortunately, no one in the building was surprised by the result.

Griffen and offsides can’t avoid each other – Whenever Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen takes the field, one can almost guarantee that he will be flagged for some sort of offsides penalty during the matchup.

Griffen drew an offsides penalty in the first quarter and it was the 11th time the Minnesota pass rusher has been penalized for defensive offsides or for a neutral zone infraction since 2019. Luckily, Griffen was able to help everyone forget about his penalty on Sunday when he added another sack to his 2021 total.

Jefferson gives everyone a heart attack – Early in the third quarter, Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson had to be helped off the field after going down hard on an incomplete pass.

Following the injury to Hunter, most feared the worst for Jefferson, but thankfully, Minnesota’s top receiver was back on the field shortly after getting banged up.