BREAKING: Cowboys, Vikings cling to playoff hopes in crucial NFC tilt

Deadspin | Cowboys, Vikings cling to playoff hopes in crucial NFC tilt

Dec 4, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) throws during the first half against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Eagles are singlehandedly keeping the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East race.

That’s fine with the Cowboys, who can apply more pressure on the Eagles if they can knock off the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night in Arlington, Texas.

Philadelphia (8-5) has lost three consecutive games. Dallas (6-6-1) won three straight contests before dropping a 44-30 road decision to the Detroit Lions on Dec. 4.

The Cowboys are a long shot in the wild-card race, so the NFC East crown is the club’s best route to the postseason.

“At the end of the day, we’re focused on beating Minnesota,” Dallas coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “We’re going to do what we got to do, and if you start looking too far ahead of, ‘OK, if this happens, if that happens,’ you’re going to drive yourself crazy. And I’m not going to do that.”

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Minnesota (5-8) faces an even tougher chore than the Cowboys.

The Vikings staved off elimination last weekend with a 31-0 shellacking of the visiting Washington Commanders. Minnesota has to win its final four games and see multiple other teams collapse down the stretch to have a chance to make the playoffs.

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw a career-high three touchdown passes against Washington. He completed 16 of 23 passes for 163 yards and didn’t throw an interception for the first time in his seven NFL starts.

“It’s definitely reassuring,” McCarthy said. “I always knew I had that and I always knew the potential is there. But I’m looking at it right now, and there’s so many ways I could get better. I’m so far from where I want to be, so it’s just great to get the win and grow in this game.”

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Still, McCarthy hasn’t been able to feature the skills of star receiver Justin Jefferson.

The four-time Pro Bowler receiver had just two catches for 11 yards against the Commanders one week after having two receptions for 4 yards in a 26-0 road loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Overall, Jefferson has just 64 catches for 810 yards and two touchdowns in 13 games. Those are skimpy numbers for a receiver who posted 1,400 or more receiving yards in four of his first five seasons.

“I’ve tried to say this as many times as I possibly can, he has been elite from a leadership standpoint, character standpoint, being one of our captains and guys that drives this organization,” Minnesota coach Kevin O’Connell said. “That’s no matter what the look on his face has been, that’s no matter what the statistical columns say.”

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Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott has been thriving with outputs of 354, 320 and 376 yards over the past three games. He leads the NFL with 3,637 passing yards and is tied for second with 26 passing touchdowns.

The Cowboys are also getting a boost from running back Javonte Williams, who has set career highs of 1,022 yards and nine touchdowns in his first season with the club.

“Yeah, it’s a good milestone,” Williams said of topping 1,000 for the first time in his five-year career. “After all the hard work I put in, to finally reach it, it’s a blessing. But I know I still have work to do. We still got a lot of games left and a lot of football left for ourselves.”

Minnesota left tackle Christian Darrisaw (knee) and tight end T.J. Hockenson (shin) sat out practice on Wednesday. Six players were limited due to injuries, including running back Aaron Jones (shoulder), receiver Jordan Addison (Achilles) and safety Josh Metellus (shoulder).

Tackle Tyler Guyton (ankle) was the lone Dallas player to sit out on Wednesday due to injury. Receiver CeeDee Lamb (concussion) was limited but had yet to clear protocol. Among the other six limited participants were defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (hamstring) and tight end Jake Ferguson (calf).

The Cowboys have won five of the past six meetings with Minnesota, including a 40-3 road victory in 2022 in the most recent matchup.