Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings Preview

January 11, 2010 by Matt Lawrence

The Dallas Cowboys will go on the road to play the Minnesota Vikings in the divisional round for the 2010 NFL Playoffs. The Cowboys will have a much tougher task ahead of them at kickoff time this week, facing a talented Minnesota Vikings team on the road instead of an ailing Eagles team at home. The Vikings are loaded with talent at almost every position except for two major areas, their offensive line and their safeties. The Vikings mediocre offensive line has led to a decline in Adrian Peterson’s stats this season. Anthony Spencer, DeMarcus Ware and Jay Ratliff will need to take advantage of this situation and keep Favre on his back so he can’t spread the ball to the Vikings plethora of weapons.
Preview, Kickoff Time, Statistical Breakdown and more after the jump!

The Cowboys offensive line will have their hands full with Jared Allen, but the O-line has looked very good against the Eagles blitzing defense and pass rush. The Cowboys will need to take advantage of the Vikings weakness at safety. In order to do this the offensive line will need to give Tony Romo the time needed for deep passing plays and / or passes to the tight ends.

In my opinion the Dallas Cowboys offense and defense is trending upwards, and I fully expect them to play above these statistical averages. On the other hand the Minnesota Vikings are plagued with the cancer that is Brett Favre, he is great at keeping his ego in check at the beginning of the season, but at the end of the season he has trouble controlling it. Brett has been seen arguing with Brad Childers and it has been rumored that Brett has been calling audibles and changing Adrian Peterson run plays into Brett Favre passing plays.

Cowboys-Vikings Preview: Statistical Breakdown

Cowboys-Vikings Offenses

Dallas Cowboys Offense
#14 – 22.6 Points Per Game
#2 – 399.4 Yards Per Game
Minnesota Vikings Offense
#2 – 29.4 Points Per Game
#5 – 379.6 Yards Per Game

Advantage:
The Statistical Advantage goes to the Vikings. However the Vikings have not beaten a team with a winning record since the Cincinatti Bengals in week 14

Cowboys-Vikings Defenses

Dallas Cowboys Defense
#2 – 15.6 Points Per Game
#9 – 315.9 Yards Per Game
Minnesota Vikings Defense
#10 – 19.5 Points Per Game
#6 – 305.5 Yards Per Game