Inside The Star
The NFL season is now in mid-December, and Week 15 will determine the playoff fate of many teams.
For the Dallas Cowboys, Week 15 results won’t eliminate them from playoff contention, but a loss will almost certainly bring those chances close to 0%.
Dallas has another home Primetime game this evening, this time hosting the Minnesota Vikings (5-8), who aren’t yet mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.
This Vikings team is coming off of a 31-0 drubbing of the Washington Commanders, so they will not lay down for the Cowboys.
The Cowboys are sitting with a 6-6-1 record, and hopes of a playoff berth now that the defensive side of the ball has shown some life.
Minnesota has several elite pieces on the team that Dallas has to worry about, and it will take some bold performances from the Cowboys to move to 7-6-1 and closer to playoff contention.
Here are three bold predictions for the Cowboys against the Vikings; performances that will help seal a victory.
Keep in mind that my bold predictions may seem farfetched, but they are rooted in stats and trends from this season, and in the realm of possibility.
This might not seem bold on the surface because the Cowboys have the top-ranked offense in the NFL, but it’s bold because of the Vikings’ defense.
Led by DC Brian Flores, the Vikings are giving up just 299.1 yards per game. That is good enough to rank eighth among all defenses.
The Vikings rank fourth against the pass, which is the strength of the Cowboys’ offense behind elite pass-catchers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
Dallas will want to pin strength against strength in this matchup, believing that their passing attack will best the Vikings’ defenders, and I agree with that strategy.
It will be difficult for the Vikings defense to cover Lamb, Pickens, Ryan Flournoy, Jake Ferguson, and small doses of KaVontae Turpin.
Behind the arm of Dak Prescott, the Cowboys’ offense will surpass 400 yards with ease.
RB Aaron Jones is no longer a Green Bay Packer, trading his jersey for the NFC North rival Vikings in free agency.
Jones has been called “The Cowboy Killer” because he seems to destroy the defense every opportunity he has gotten.
In three regular season games versus the Cowboys, Jones has averaged 157 total yards from scrimmage with six total touchdowns, including four in a single game.
Jones has had his way with the Cowboys, but something tells me the defense will know how to stop him this time.
With the addition of DT Quinnen Williams to the middle, plus DeMarvion Overshown and Logan Wilson patrolling the second level, Jones will not reach 50 total yards and will be kept out of the endzone.
Cowboys RB Javonte Williams has been a revelation for the rushing attack this season.
In what was expected to be a shared backfield,...
