National Football League

Bob Sansevere: Five keys to Cowboys-Vikings game

Published Oct. 17, 2010 10:15 p.m. ET

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2. THE PUNISHER: Moss never has lost a game to Dallas. Fueled by the Cowboys' snub of him in the 1998 draft when they had the eighth overall pick and led him to believe they'd select him, Moss has trampled Dallas every chance he's gotten. He is 7-0 against the Cowboys with 11 touchdowns and a 21-yard average. That's his best average against any NFL team. Moss told Dallas media members on Wednesday that he has forgiven the Cowboys for not drafting him, saying, "I don't hold a grudge." That's an interesting comment, considering on that same day he told the Minnesota media the reason he has been so successful against the Cowboys is because of what happened in the '98 draft.

3. DESPERATE AND DANGEROUS: The Cowboys, like the Vikings, are 1-3 and can't afford to fall to 1-4. That becomes a mighty deep hole and would put a crimp in plans to win the Super Bowl. The Cowboys' incentive to reach the Super Bowl is increased because that game will be played at their stadium. Despite the three losses, the Cowboys' offense has put up impressive numbers and ranks second overall in the league. Last week, in a 34-27 loss to Tennessee, the Cowboys amassed 511 yards. It was the most by a Dallas team in more than a decade. Tony Romo passed for 406 yards, Miles Austin had nine catches for 166 yards and Felix Jones ran for 109 yards. The best way to disrupt the Cowboys' offense is for the Vikings' defense to torment Romo when he drops back to pass.

4. THE RUSH: The Vikings led the NFL with 48 sacks last season, but they have just six sacks in four games this time around. Jared Allen, who has had 14.5 sacks in each of the past two seasons, has one. That has to change, and the Cowboys could be just the team to do it against. In the NFC divisional playoffs last season, the Vikings had six sacks and hit Romo about 10 times. Ray Edwards, whose 1.5 sacks lead the team, had three sacks in that game, while Allen had a sack, a forced fumble and a tackle behind the line of scrimmage. The Vikings held the Cowboys to a season-low 248 yards and won 34-3. The way the Vikings' offense has been playing, they might need similar defensive dominance in today's game.

5. THEIR RUSH: The Cowboys rank eighth in the NFL in total defense, and a lot of that has to do with the play of the linebackers in their 3-4 alignment. The most dangerous of the bunch is pass-rushing fiend DeMarcus Ware. He has six sacks, tied for second-most in the league, and six tackles for losses. The Vikings have struggled giving Favre enough time to locate receivers and, to account for Ware, they will have to come up with something different today. An extra tight end would be one option. If the Vikings control Ware enough to keep him from constantly harassing Favre, their chances of winning increase.

3

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo's NFL ranking with a 68.4 completion percentage. Brett Favre is tied for 27th with Donovan McNabb; both have a 56.5 percentage.

1

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson leads the NFL in rushing yards per game with a 120.0 average. At that pace, he would finish with 1,920 yards.

118.5

Cowboys wideout Miles Austin's average receiving yards per game, good for first in the NFL.

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