Dak Prescott threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns as the Dallas Cowboys ran away from the host Minnesota Vikings, winning 40-3 on Sunday in Minneapolis.
Prescott completed 22-of-25 passes for Dallas (7-3) and didn’t suffer any sacks in a near-perfect performance. He was bolstered by a rushing attack that saw Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott combine for 122 yards on the ground. Elliott had two rushing touchdowns, while Pollard hauled in six passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns in the air attack.
Dalvin Cook led Minnesota (8-2) with just 72 rushing yards on 11 touches.
The loss for the Vikings snapped a seven-game winning streak. Kirk Cousins was ineffective in the passing game, totaling just 105 yards through the air while completing 12-of-23 passes.
Cousins fumbled away Minnesota’s opening possession when he was strip-sacked by Dallas linebacker Micah Parsons on third-and-3. The Cowboys flipped that Vikings turnover into a field goal to take an early lead.
Parsons finished the day with four solo tackles, two sacks and a team-best five QB hits. He now has 10 sacks on the season.
It marked the fifth game this season that Parsons had at least two sacks. The record for most multiple-sack games in a single season belongs to Hall of Fame defensive end Reggie White, who had eight such games for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1987.
After Minnesota’s field goal tied the game in the first quarter, Dallas responded with a touchdown, as Elliott punched it in from one yard out. It capped off a 10-play, 75-yard drive, and was the start of the Cowboys scoring 37 straight points.
During that outburst, Pollard scored on passing plays covering 30 yards and 68 yards, the second of which provided a 30-3 lead early in the third quarter.
The win for Dallas featured a 60-yard field goal from kicker Brett Maher, which came at the end of a five-play, 44-yard drive to end the first half. For his career, Maher is now a perfect four-of-four in field goal attempts from 60 yards or longer. He holds the NFL record for the most made field goals from that distance in NFL history. No other kicker has more than two.
Maher made four field goals Sunday, also connecting on kicks from 27, 50 and 53 yards out.
–Field Level Media