National Football League

Dallas' 1-3 mark a tribute to turnovers

Published Oct. 14, 2010 10:15 a.m. ET

foxsports

If misery loves company, the 2010 Vikings and Cowboys should be soul mates.

Only last January, they were NFC divisional playoff opponents and Super Bowl contenders. Each team entered this season brimming with confidence and aspirations for a deep postseason run.

Instead the Vikings and Cowboys are wheezing into Week 5 with mutual 1-3 records and preparing for a rematch that will plunge the loser deeper into the abyss. There is almost as much at stake Sunday at the Metrodome as there was nine months ago, when the Vikings steamrolled Dallas 34-3 on their way to the NFC championship game.

"Dallas is full of talent, but they didn't think they'd be 1-3. We're full of talent and we sure didn't think we'd be 1-3," Vikings defensive tackle Pat Williams said Wednesday. "But that's the way the cards were dealt us. We can't blame nobody but ourselves. You don't want to be 1-4. It's going to be a dogfight."

As the Vikings and quarterback Brett Favre continue tinkering with new personnel and schemes to try to ignite their passing game, the Cowboys and Tony Romo are shredding defenses through the air with an average of 326 yards per game.

But self-inflicted wounds have proved devastating for Dallas, which has lost its three games by an average of 6.3 points.

Only five teams have a worse turnover margin than the Cowboys' minus-4, the Vikings one of them. Turnovers have led to opponents scoring 23 points on their subsequent possession. Other mistakes have hurt Dallas, the sixth-most penalized team in the NFL.

The Cowboys have gained almost 500 more net yards than their opponents yet have lost three of four games.

"It's a lot of little things," Romo said Wednesday. "There's a lot of parity in this league. One or two things end up costing you football games, and that's what happened to us."

With a quarter of the season already lost, both teams are in must-win mode with hyperbolic headline writers slobbering over whether to label Sunday's clash the "Panic Button" or "Desperation Bowl."

"It's where we are. We've got to dig ourselves out. We have to start winning games," Romo said.

Frantic circumstances almost render last season's lopsided playoff results moot except the Vikings' defense returns mostly intact after having a field day against the Cowboys' offensive line.

The Vikings forced three turnovers and sacked Romo six times in neutralizing a Dallas team that put up 34 points against the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round. The deafening crowd noise at the Metrodome and the front four's pressure left Romo hearing footsteps that did not exist.

"Just playing ball, having fun and not worrying about any outside forces," explained Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards, who had three sacks. "Plus, we had a great crowd that day. They had to use a silent count, and that allowed us to get off on the ball."

Romo was 22 of 35 for 198 yards and an interception. The Cowboys' longest play covered only 22 yards.

"They're good players combined with a good scheme combined with a tough place to play," Romo said. "You stack it all together, it makes for a difficult place to go. You've just got to go out and know you're not going to be perfect on every play and minimize the bad plays and connect when the good plays are there."

Romo roasted the Tennessee Titans' secondary for 406 yards and three touchdowns last week but had two passes intercepted off deflections. Miles Austin caught nine passes for 166 yards and averages 15.3 yards per reception, sixth best in the league.

"He's playing at a high level," Dallas coach Wade Phillips said about Romo.

The Vikings' secondary is more vulnerable than when the teams met in January.

Cornerback Cedric Griffin was lost to another season-ending knee injury. Rookie Chris Cook is recovering from his second knee surgery in two months and is uncertain for Sunday. What is more, the Vikings have only two interceptions.

"They can be a little more aggressive because of their front. In general, you have to watch out for that," Romo said. "I think there's an opportunity there with some double-move stuff on the safeties and stuff of that nature. We'll see."

All games offer varying degrees of urgency, but the true must-win game is the Super Bowl. To that end, Phillips would not take the bait when asked whether Sunday counts as a desperation game.

Although Cowboys owner Jerry Jones repeatedly has said Phillips' job is not in jeopardy, perhaps there is no tougher market for a struggling NFL head coach than Dallas, which is hosting the Super Bowl this season.

If the Cowboys return home 1-4, Phillips' seat figures to get hotter.

"It's par for the course anywhere. We're bad coaches now. We're bad players. But we've only played four games," he said. "Let's see how it ends. The realization is we're both good teams, and I think we'll both bounce back."