What do the Cowboys need in Week 15 to keep playoff hopes alive?

Before the season began, the Dallas Cowboys game tomorrow night against the Minnesota Vikings was expected to be a contest between two teams fighting to make the playoffs.

As the Cowboys prepare for tomorrow’s game, those expectations are only half-right. While the Vikings are pretty much done, the Cowboys could be eliminated from a wildcard berth by the end of Sunday night.

A Dallas loss to the Vikings, coupled with wins by Green Bay over Denver, San Francisco over the Titans, and Chicago over Cleveland slams the door shut on a wildcard slot.

A loss to Minnesota means the best finish the Cowboys could hope for would be 9-7-1. All the teams that currently hold the three wildcard slots, and their division leaders, would have at least 10 wins.

A likely Eagles’ win over the Raiders on Sunday, coupled with a Dallas loss later, would put Philadelphia just one win, or another Cowboys’ loss, away from clinching the NFC East.

The Cowboys need to win on Sunday night, first and foremost. Even then, they’ll need some help from at least one team from those other four games.

Vikings Mathematically Alive

At 5-8, the Vikings are still mathematically alive for a wildcard spot. However, Minnesota’s season is pretty much over.

They would need to run the table and have either the 49ers or Bears lose out. They’d also need a lot of help from the Cowboys, Panthers, and Lions too.

J.J. McCarthy has only played in seven games this year, missing six games to injury.

The Vikings had lost four straight games, with McCarthy throwing two interceptions in each game, during the last three losses.

But he looked a lot better in the 31-0 rout over the Commanders last Sunday.

He was 16-for-23 for 163 yards and three touchdowns with, more importantly, no interceptions.

On paper, this should be an easy win for Dallas. Except the Cowboys have a bad history of making struggling young quarterbacks look like the second coming of Tom Brady.

If Dallas has any chance of making the playoffs, they cannot afford to repeat this history.

The defense will be the key.

The unit that kept Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes from running up and down the field needs to show up tonight.

Who: Minnesota Vikings

Where: at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas

When: Sunday, 7:20 p.m. (CST)

How (to watch): NBC

All-Time Marks

The Cowboys will come into this game with a 19-15 record all-time against Minnesota. However, the Vikings are 8-6 against Dallas when playing in Texas.

That is not exactly a good omen.

Especially as Minnesota won 28-24 the last time the teams met in 2019.

Since that loss, however, the Cowboys have won the last three meetings. All three games were played in Minneapolis.

The last game between the teams was a 40-3 Dallas rout over the Vikings in 2022 at Minnesota.

When it comes to Week 15 contests, the Cowboys hold a 26-21 record in the 47 seasons since the NFL expanded from a 14-game regular season schedule.

They are 12-9 at home in those games and have won the last three Week 15 games played at AT&T Stadium. This will be the first Week 15 game played at AT&T Stadium since 2020.

The Cowboys outlasted the 49ers 41-33 in that game.

Dallas beat Carolina in Week 15 on the road last year, snapping a two-game losing streak in Week 15 games.

The only other time the Cowboys have played the Vikings in Week 15 came back in 1993. Dallas won that game, 37-20, in Minnesota.

The Prediction

My preseason prediction had Dallas at 4-9 and out of the playoff hunt by kickoff of this game. The Cowboys are 2.5 games ahead of that prediction and barely clinging on for the playoffs at 6-6-1.

The wheels have come off in Minnesota and Dallas has to take advantage.

They cannot afford any more losses.

Prediction: Cowboys 34, Vikings 14