No. 20 (up 3 spots): Frank Schwab, Yahoo! Sports
J.J. McCarthy’s passer rating in his first six games: 57.9. McCarthy’s passer rating in his past two games: 120.3. This is why it’s dangerous to bury a young player after six games, even though McCarthy was unquestionably bad. He still missed plenty of passes against Dallas, but he also looks much better. The Vikings season isn’t going anywhere, but three more solid performances by McCarthy would give Minnesota good vibes going into the offseason.
As mentioned, here’s a deeper look at some other numbers associated with Sunday’s game.
9: The number of victories the Vikings have against the Cowboys in Dallas and on SNF all-time as the road team in franchise history. Sunday’s victory moved Minnesota to 9-6 in Dallas and 9-14 on SNF as the visiting team (the Vikings had lost four consecutive games in the prime-time slot as the road team dating back to the 2019 season, when Minnesota defeated Dallas 28-24).
250: Passing yards for McCarthy on Sunday, a career high by two yards (he had 248 against the Ravens in Week 10).
25: Although the Vikings only sacked Cowboys QB Dak Prescott twice on Sunday, Minnesota pushed its streak of recording at least one sack to 25 consecutive games going back to last season (including the playoff game). That is the longest sacks streak by Minnesota since January 1999-November 2000.
200: For Dallas, Sunday’s game marked its 200th in prime time (since 1970). For the Vikings, the contest was Harrison Smith’s 200th career start (only his second at Dallas, though). Smith totaled six tackles, two passes defensed and a quarterback hit, and was oh-so-close to coming away with his 39th career interception.
150: Speaking of milestone games, long snapper and three-time Pro Bowler Andrew DePaola appeared in his 150th regular-season game on Sunday.
40: Number of regular-season victories for Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell. O’Connell reached the number in just 65 games, tying Mike Zimmer for the second-fastest number of games coached to achieve 40 wins in franchise history. The late Bud Grant reached 40 regular-season victories in 62 games.
5: According to NFL Media Research, the Vikings are the first team since the 2019 Patriots to have five consecutive games without allowing a touchdown pass. The last team to achieve the feat in six-plus consecutive games within the same season was the 1988 Browns (seven consecutive games). Additionally, Vikings fullback and Minnesota’s Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee for 2025 C.J. Ham scored his fifth career rushing touchdown with a 1-yard plunge with 1:12 left in third quarter.
