10 rapid thoughts on the Vikings loss to the Cowboys in Week 11

Even more rapid thoughts from Minnesota’s loss to Dallas

Minnesota’s defense broke: We’ve been hearing all season about how the Vikings’ new defensive scheme was one that utilized a “bend, but don’t break” philosophy. Well, against the Cowboys on Sunday, Minnesota’s defense certainly broke.

Dallas basically did whatever they wanted on offense, and the Vikings had no answers for it. The 40 points scored by the Cowboys is the most allowed by Minnesota this season, and the 37-point loss is the worst by the Vikings since Week 10 of the 2010 campaign when they lost 44-7 to the Green Bay Packers.

Cousins’ TD streak comes to an end: Heading into the meeting with the Cowboys, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins had thrown a touchdown in 39 straight games, the NFL record among active players.

On Sunday, unfortunately, Cousins’ saw this streak come to an end. This weekend’s game against Dallas was the first time the Minnesota quarterback didn’t throw a touchdown in a matchup since Week 2 of the 2020 season.

Vikings no longer unbeaten at home: Sunday’s shellacking by the Cowboys was the Vikings’ first loss inside U.S. Bank Stadium this season. Funny enough, Dallas’ victory actually keeps them unbeaten inside Minnesota’s current home stadium since the building opened in 2016.

For whatever reason, the Vikings can’t just figure out how to use their home-field advantage to defeat the Cowboys.

No time to sulk: Sunday’s game obviously didn’t have an ideal outcome for Minnesota, but they’ve got to quickly forget everything that happened and attempt to fix some of their weaknesses as their next game is on Thursday against the 6-4 New England Patriots.