Head coach Mike Zimmer may not have been on the sidelines for the play that cemented the Minnesota Vikings' 17-15 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, but he probably has some thoughts on it.
Quarterback Sam Bradford attempted to hit tight end Kyle Rudolph in the end zone for a 2-point conversion, but was smacked in the facemask as his pass sailed into the stands.
It probably should have been a penalty.
It wasn't a penalty.
Bradford had the Vikings' offense rolling with the clock ticking down, as their 2-minute drill turned into a touchdown will less than 30 seconds to play, but it was too little too late, as a game's worth of offensive anemia came back to bite them.
The defense was back to being a major bright spot, holding quarterback Dak Prescott in check and limiting running back Ezekiel Elliot to his third-lowest rushing output of the season, but the offense couldn’t match their production.
SUNDAY SCHOOL (ON THURSDAY)
-- Bradford threw the ball a season-high 45 times, completing 32 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown. He averaged just 5.49 yards per attempt, his second-lowest mark of the season.
-- With that 5.49-yard average it's no surprise tight end Kyle Rudolph was Bradford's favorite target. He looked Rudolph's way 12 times, leading to six catches and 45 receiving yards. He's just the second tight end in the NFL this season to be targeted more than 10 times and come away with fewer than 50 receiving yards.
-- A Charles Johnson sighting! Bradford went deep a few times, hitting Johnson for a 25-yard gain on the second play of the third quarter.
-- The Vikings racked up 21 first downs to the Cowboys' 13, Minnesota picked up just three of them via the run, yet another reminder of the radical shift in this team's offensive game play over the last few months.
-- Terence Newman, a 38-year-old cornerback, tackled the league's leading rusher (and a man young enough to be his very old son) two yards behind the line in the second quarter. What a time to be alive.
DULY NOTED
-- As NBC noted last night, McKinnon's passing attempt off that wildcat formation in the second quarter actually had some precedent. He was originally recruited to Georgia Southern as a quarterback, but rarely passed, running the ball out of the triple option.
-- At 0-for-1 he now has a quarterback rating of 39.6 on the season, better than Cleveland fill-in Kevin Hogan and Green Bay backup Brett Hundley.
-- Sorry, Blair. Kai Forbath went 3-for-3, connecting from 48, 36 and 33 yards out and providing the Vikings' only points until the final two minutes of the fourth quarter.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Newman continues to defy the NFL's age/ability curve. A first-round pick of the Cowboys in 2003, the Vikings' elder statesman was near-perfect on the night, knocking Elliott back two yards the only time he was tested.
DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME
Adam Thielen led the Vikings' receiving corps with 86 yards on seven receptions, a solid game for the former undrafted free agent that will likely be forgotten thanks to his late fumble. His toe-drag gave the Vikings a critical first down just before the two-minute warning.
THAT MOMENT
The officials may have concluded that Bradford wasn't hit in the facemask by a Cowboys defender on the Vikings' final play of the game, but Bradford, and pretty much everyone else, disagrees. Brian Robison didn't mince words after the game, berating the officials for the non-call. It wasn't even their only whiff on the play. Left tackle T.J. Clemmings committed a pretty blatant false start as well.
THIS NUMBER
31.9 yards -- We don't often comment on the Vikings' punting situation in this space, but Jeff Locke's dismal night deserves a mention. Locke punted seven times in the loss, averaging 31.9 yards, including shanking a 16-yarder that set the Cowboys up at their own 32-yard-line. Jimmy Fallon also labeled him "Most Likely To Be The Love Child Of Clay Aiken And The Elf On The Shelf."
THEY SAID IT
"I am just going to say it right now: I’m sick and tired of refereeing in this league. I’m sick and tired of it. You got holding calls all over the place that people don’t want to call. Bradford gets hit in the face at the end of the game and you don’t call it. I’m not laying this loss on refereeing, but at some point it has to get better." -- Defensive end Brian Robison
"You can’t make those mistakes. Mistakes are mistakes, and in this league when you play hard, it is not enough, and it will never be enough. This is a win business, and you have to win in crunch time." -- Linebacker Chad Greenway
"These guys did a great job of coming in and picking up the slack for coach Zimmer, and they called a great game." -- Linebacker Anthony Barr
"I thought we moved the ball well at times tonight, but we just continue to shoot ourselves in the foot with penalties, especially in the red zone." -- Quarterback Sam Bradford
WHAT'S NEXT
The Vikings' chances at a playoff spot are slipping away. Detroit leads the division at 7-4, and Green Bay can move to 6-6 with a win over the Houston Texans on Sunday. The Vikings have 10 days to prepare for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who haven't won since Week 6.
