The Minnesota Vikings shocked the Dallas Cowboys 34-26 on Sunday in a result that directly impacted the Texans’ hopes of qualifying for the NFL playoffs with just three weeks remaining in the regular season. Although Minnesota is already mathematically eliminated, the win had a significant impact on the postseason race within the National Football Conference (NFC).
With this victory, the Vikings put their record at 6 wins and 8 losses, remaining at the bottom of the NFC North Division. In contrast, the Cowboys remained at 6 wins, 7 losses and 1 tie, in second place in the NFC East Division, but now three games behind the division-leading Philadelphia Eagles (9-5) and with a shrinking margin to stay alive in the fight for the wild cards.
Vikings beat Cowboys
NAILOR! AGAIN!@jjmccarthy09 @jalennailor#ProBowlVote
📺: @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/JnsDToU2Mn
– Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 15, 2025
Minnesota’s offense was led by JJ McCarthy, who threw for 250 yards and connected on two touchdown passes to Jalen Nailor, the highlight of the game.
Nailor ended up as the main offensive reference for the Vikings, capitalizing on key moments that tilted the score in favor of the visitors.
On the ground, CJ Ham contributed a key touchdown in the third quarter, while kicker Will Reichard was effective in the decisive moments, scoring points that ended up making the difference in the closing moments of the game.
Key errors doom Dallas
For the Cowboys, one of the determining factors was the performance of kicker Brandon Aubrey, who had missed just two field goals all season.
But in this game he missed two long-distance attempts that proved decisive.
Those failures cut Dallas’ offensive momentum at critical moments.
The game began with a high offensive tempo.
Dallas opened the scoring with a Javonte Williams run, but Minnesota immediately responded with a touchdown pass from McCarthy to Nailor.
The back-and-forth affair continued throughout the first half, with touchdowns by Malik Davis for Dallas and another personal touchdown run by McCarthy, which left the score 17-17 at halftime after an exchange of field goals.
Second half with ups and downs and a late reaction
In the third quarter, Dallas took a momentary lead thanks to two field goals by Aubrey to go up 23-14, but Minnesota reacted with a Ham touchdown to close the half 23-24.
The final blow came in the fourth quarter when the Vikings took advantage of another Aubrey fumble to go 51 yards for Nailor’s second touchdown through the air, extending the lead to 31-23.
Although Dallas tried to react in the closing minutes, the Vikings sealed the win with another field goal before the end.
With this result, the Cowboys are forced to win practically everything that remains and depend on other results to stay in the fight for the playoffs.
The NFL’s matchday will continue on Monday with the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Miami Dolphins, a key game in the American Conference.
Filed under: Vikings beat Cowboys
