Minnesota Vikings Come Up Short In Final Minute to Cowboys 27-23

In a game reminiscent of the Chicago Bears in week 2, the Minnesota Vikings had a heartbreaking loss to the Dallas Cowboys 27-23.

Nov 3, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) scores a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT

With 35 seconds left quarterback Tony Romo found Dwayne Harris for a 7 yard touchdown and that sealed the deal for the Vikings who were looking for an upset in the house that Jerry Jones built.

This is the third game that Minnesota has lost this season in the final minute.

At times the Vikings heavily favored the Cowboys before their terribly undermanned secondary was exposed again, unfortunately with the game on the line.

Already down three injured starters in the secondary, Minnesota lost cornerback Xavier Rhodes late in the game with a leg injury. A.J. Jefferson came in cold off the bench to replace Rhodes and immediately intercepted Romo. But the Vikings could not get off the field when it mattered most and ultimately paid for it.

The Vikings including Christian Ponder looked like a solid team for most of the game. The Vikings were put on the board early when Blair Walsh kicked for 23 yards and that tied the game 3-3.

Not to be outdone, the Cowboys railed quickly with a field goal of their own and tied it at 6-6.

But Ponder managed to score a 4 yard touchdown for Minnesota and that put the Vikings up 10-6. They managed 11 plays 79 yards and 4:54 seconds that lead up to the touchdown.

For the game Ponder was 25 of 37 for 236 yards, had a rushing touchdown and an interception.

But he ultimately was outdone by Dallas’ big-play quarterback Tony Romo, who was 34-for-51 for 337 yards and a pair of touchdown passes.

Romo led a nine-play, 90-yard drive in 2:09 after the Vikings elected to punt rather than attempt a 53-yard Blair Walsh field goal. Walsh, supposedly healthy after being nagged by hamstring injury to his left (planting) foot, had just missed an extra point.

But the true bright spot in this game was Adrian Peterson. Even with three Cowboys defenders stopping him he managed to rush 11-yards into the end zone (with a small assist form Chase Ford) on fourth-and-1 with 5:40 remaining. He carried 25 times for 140 yards after gaining just 150 in his previous three games.

Peterson now has his40 games for 100+ yards

The Vikings play the Washington Redskins next at the Metrodome at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, WFTC-TV, (Channel 29) KFXN-FM 100.3