Cowboys running back Javonte Williams hadn’t played since the team’s first possession when he scored on a 1-yard run.
He injured his shoulder, keeping him out the rest of the first half.
The Cowboys added padding under Williams’ shoulder pad, and he opened the second half with runs of 15 and 3 yards.
Malik Davis is the only healthy running back active tonight, with fullback Hunter Luepke now ruled out with a concussion.
The Cowboys went 50 yards in seven plays for a go-ahead Brandon Aubrey field goal of 26 yards. KaVontae Turpin took the second-half kickoff 40 yards to set up the field-goal drive.
The Cowboys now lead 20-17.
The Vikings played the first half as if they have as much on the line as the Cowboys in the first half of Sunday Night Football.
The Cowboys, who are fighting for their playoff lives, are tied with the Vikings 17-17 at halftime. The Vikings were eliminated from playoff contention earlier in the day.
The Vikings have outgained the Cowboys 180 to 169.
Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Nailor and ran for 1-yard touchdown on a bootleg on fourth down. The Vikings reached the Dallas 11 on their final possession of the half but had to settle for 29-yard Will Reichard field goal and a 17-14 lead with 1:48 remaining until halftime.
The Cowboys tied it on Brandon Aubrey’s 37-yard field goal with three seconds left in the half.
McCarthy’s first pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage by blitzing safety Donovan Wilson and McCarthy, in an attempt to knock it down, tipped it to Cowboys defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. The interception gave the Cowboys the ball at the Vikings 35, and they took an early 7-0 lead on Javonte Williams’ 1-yard run.
Williams has not returned since because of a shoulder injury.
Backup running back Malik Davis had the Cowboys’ second touchdown on a 1-yard run.
Aubrey, who earlier had a 6-yard run for a first down on a fake field goal that set up Williams’ touchdown, missed a 51-yard field goal try wide right. That would have broken a 14-14 tie.
Instead, Reichard’s kick gave the Vikings the three-point lead until Aubrey got another chance.
McCarthy is 8-of-13 for 142 yards with a touchdown and an interception, with Jordan Addison catching two for 66. Aaron Jones has six carries for 16 yards and three catches for 31 yards. Justin Jefferson has one reception for 12 yards.
Dak Prescott has completed 10 of 18 passes for 120 yards, with CeeDee Lamb catching three for 51. George Pickens has one catch for 10 yards.
The Vikings were eliminated from the playoff race earlier Sunday. They aren’t playing like it Sunday night.
J.J. McCarthy’s 1-yard run on a bootleg on fourth down has tied the Vikings with the Cowboys 14-14 with 9:28 remaining until halftime.
The touchdown was set up by McCarthy’s 58-yard pass to Jordan Addison to the 4-yard line on third-and-8. Addison was so wide open he should have scored, but he had to wait on the underthrown pass and Caelen Carson caught up to Addison to drag him down.
Two plays later, the Vikings scored on McCarthy’s 3-yard pass to Jordan Jefferson, but the touchdown was nullified by an illegal formation penalty. Finally, three plays after that, McCarthy walked it in.
It reminded Cowboys fans of Peyton Manning’s bootleg at AT&T Stadium in 2013 when the Broncos beat Dallas 51-48.
The Cowboys lead the Vikings 14-7, but they could finish the game without running back Javonte Williams.
Williams injured his shoulder on the Cowboys’ first scoring drive when he scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 8:23 left in the first quarter. He is questionable to return, and the Cowboys have added padding inside his shoulder pad in an attempt to get him back on the field.
Backup tailback Malik Davis and fullback Hunter Luepke have carried the load since, including a 1-yard touchdown run that put the Cowboys back in front 14-7 only eight seconds into the second quarter.
The Vikings tied the game 7-7, using a short field to go 53 yards in only two plays. J.J. McCarthy hit Aaron Jones for an 18-yard gain before Reddy Steward pulled him down with a horse-collar tackle for another 15 yards. On the next play, McCarthy hit Jalen Nailor for a 20-yard score.
Everything has gone the Cowboys’ way early in Sunday Night Football.
On the second play from scrimmage, blitzing safety Donovan Wilson tipped J.J. McCarthy’s pass, and the Vikings quarterback tried to bat it away. Instead, McCarthy batted it into the arms of Cowboys defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, who intercepted it at the Vikings 35.
The Minnesota defense stopped the Cowboys, who sent their field-goal unit on the field for fourth-and-4. Instead of Brandon Aubrey kicking the field goal, though, holder Bryan Anger flipped the ball to Aubrey, who ran for 6 yards and a first down.
The Cowboys faced another fourth down on the goal line, and Javonte Williams ran for the needed 1 yard from the 2-yard line. Williams then scored on the next play.
The Cowboys lead 7-0.
Dak Prescott is 2-of-3 for 14 yards, and Williams has six carries for 13 yards.
