Five extra points: Vikings couldn't rattle Cowboys' Cooper Rush on first down

With Cowboys starting quarterback Dak Prescott inactive, the Vikings did all you'd think they would need to do on first downs to beat Cooper Rush, a fifth-year veteran making his first NFL start at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday night. Facing the league's best first-down offense, the Vikings held the Dallas ground game to 49 yards on 16 first-down carries, including a whopping 11 carries of fewer than 4 yards. But … Rush and strong-armed receiver Cedrick Wilson stole the show offensively, helping the Cowboys defense pull off the 20-16 come-from-behind upset. Rush and Wilson combined to go 8 for 14 for 116 yards (8.2 yards per attempt), four first downs and a touchdown on first downs. Wilson's 35-yard gadget-play throw to CeeDee Lamb was a thing of beauty and set up a field goal. Rush's final first-down throw was the game-winning 5-yard touchdown to Amari Cooper.

The Vikings went into the game ranked No. 1 in third-down defense. Then they got embarrassed by a quarterback who had thrown three passes in five seasons. The Vikings allowed Rush and the Cowboys to convert 7 of 14 third downs while the Vikings offense went 1 for 13, by the way. Things started perfectly on third down. The Vikings sent Eric Kendricks on a blitz on third-and-7 in the first quarter. He disposed of Ezekiel Elliott and sacked Rush. The next three third downs were short-yardage situations converted by runs of 4, 2 and 6 yards. Dallas fell to 5 for 9 on a sack by Everson Griffen off a 4-man rush. The final converted third down was embarrassing. Elliott caught a pass and split Anthony Barr and Mackensie Alexander for a 15-yard gain to the Vikings' 5. Rush completed 5 of 8 third-down passes for 118 yards, three first downs and a 73-yard touchdown to Cedrick Wilson.

Kirk Cousins talked last week about having to respect Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs, who came into the game as the first player with seven interceptions in the season's first six games since Hall of Famer Rod Woodson in 1993. Diggs also led the league in most yards allowed after the catch among corners with 126 or more snaps. In other words, he can be taken advantage of if one's careful. Cousins attacked Diggs twice on the Vikings' first drive. He got a 14-yard pass interference penalty on third down and a 20-yard touchdown to Adam Thielen. Diggs jammed Thielen at the line but lost him when he peeked into the backfield. Cousins also converted a fourth-and-1 from his own 44-yard line by attacking Diggs. After C.J. Ham was stopped for no gain on third-and-1, Cousins rolled out and hit Thielen for 32 yards. Again, Diggs jammed Thielen and then looked into the backfield just long enough to lose Thielen. Overall, Cousins targeted Diggs five times. He went 3-for-3 for 58 yards and drew the PI and illegal contact.

Vikings Hall of Famer Steve Hutchinson was presented with his Hall of Fame ring at halftime. Hutch had only 19 penalties in 12 seasons as a left guard. The Cowboys' starting left guard – Connor Williams – came in leading the league with nine penalties in six games. He had four penalties against the Patriots back in Week 6. He's the weak link up front in Big D. There's a reason the Vikings chose to rush Kendricks over left guard on that first sack of the game. The Vikings should have blitzed more on third down, but backed off too much later in the game. Williams was called for his ninth holding penalty of the season with 1:11 left when he mauled Dalvin Tomlinson in the red zone. It moved the Cowboys to the Vikings' 22-yard line. It led to a third-and-16. And that led to the Vikings calling back-to-back timeouts and getting flagged for delay of game. Elliott converted the third-and-11, saving Williams from a pair of goat horns.

Prescott gets paid $40 million a year to spread the ball around to the most talented group of offensive players in the NFC, if not the league. He targeted nine receivers in Week 1. Eight caught passes in Week 3. There was a game in which four different players caught touchdowns. No way Cooper Rush imitates that, right? Wrong. He completed passes to seven receivers, targeted eight of them. Two players had at least 112 yards receiving. Another one had 84. Rush didn't have much luck with tight end Dalton Schultz, an underrated cog in this No. 1-ranked offense. Schultz was targeted seven times, but not always accurately. That bogged the Dallas offense down early. Schultz ended up with two catches for 11 yards, including a 7-yard gain that was tipped by a defender and then bounced off center Tyler Biadasz into Schultz's hands. Typical of the Vikings' luck Sunday night.