The Minnesota Vikings may be eliminated from the playoffs, but the Dallas Cowboys technically weren’t heading into their Sunday night matchup at AT&T Stadium.

The Cowboys’ chances are now at rock bottom after falling to the Vikings, 34-26, on Sunday night.

The Vikings are now 6-8 on the season, while the Cowboys fell to 6-7-1. And though they’re not technically eliminated, the Cowboys’ playoff chances are hanging by a thread now.

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It was an inauspicious start for the Vikings in this contest, as J.J. McCarthy very first pass attempt was an interception, as it was tipped at the line by a blitzing Donovan Wilson and Quinnen Williams looked up and hauled it in.

Dak Prescott and the Cowboys’ offense had tremendous field position for their opening drive, and though it took 11 plays to go 35 yards, Javonte Williams was able to nail it into the end zone for the 7-0 lead.

It also wouldn’t have happened without a fake field goal, as Brandon Aubrey, one of the most trusted legs in the NFL, ran for a first down on fourth-and-4 from the Minnesota 29-yard line. However, Aubrey would come up in a not so good way later in this game.

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The Vikings were finally able to get something going after the field was flipped on their third drive when Aaron Jones was pushed out of bounds on an 18-yard reception, and the Cowboys were called for a horse collar tackle, tacking on 15 yards. On the very next play, McCarthy fired a touchdown pass to Jalen Nailor — his first of two scores in this one — to tie the game at seven apiece.

The second quarter brought about a wave of offense on both sides, as Dallas responded with Malik Davis rushing one in from a yard out, while McCarthy capped a 75-yard drive with a perfectly executed fake handoff on Dallas’ one-yard line for a walk-in touchdown.

On the ensuing drive, Aubrey, who again has one of the most reliable legs in the game, missed just his third field goal attempt of the year, this one from 51 yards out. After Will Reichard nailed one, Aubrey had some redemption before halftime, as both teams tallied 17 points.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) looks to throw during the first half against the Minnesota Vikings at AT&T Stadium on Dec. 14, 2025. (Kevin Jairaj/Imagn Images)

In the second half, the Cowboys ended up with a 23-17 lead thanks to two more Aubrey field goals, but seven points is what they were hoping for. McCarthy helped make it happen with a big pass to Nailor to set up the Vikings in the red zone.

After Justin Jefferson, who struggled in this one despite the targets, not hauling in a touchdown pass, C.J. Ham buried a one-yard touchdown to make it 24-23 after the extra point.

Prescott tried to match his second-year counterpart, but the Cowboys stalled on Minnesota’s 41-yard line. At 59 yards out, it’s well within Aubrey’s range, but he missed yet again. All four of his field goal misses this season have been from 50 yards and beyond.

Now, with the ball near midfield, the Vikings had a chance to further their lead and they got just what they needed. On 1st-and-goal from the Dallas four-yard line, McCarthy found Nailor again and he celebrated as the Vikings went up 31-23.

The Cowboys would turn the ball over on downs on the ensuing drive, and the Vikings saw Aaron Jones pick up multiple first downs to not only keep the clock running, but force Dallas to use all their timeouts. 

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In the box score, McCarthy was 15-of-24 for 250 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, as Jordan Addison’s 58-yard catch was among some of his great throws.

For the Cowboys, Prescott was 23-of-38 for 294 yards, though he never threw a touchdown pass. CeeDee Lamb led all receivers in this game with 111 yards on six catches, but George Pickens was kept quiet for the second straight game. He had just three catches for 33 yards.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo — Chargers safety Tony Jefferson was ejected after a helmet-to-helmet hit on Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyquan Thornton in the fourth quarter of Los Angeles’ 16-13 victory Sunday and left the field in frustration, making an obscene gesture toward fans.

After the game, Jefferson apologized for the gesture. He said that he didn’t have any bad intentions on the hit and thought it was legal but hadn’t yet seen a replay.

“I’m classier than that. I was just caught up in the moment,” Jefferson said. “Emotions get high. I won’t sit here and act like I’m a perfect man. I messed up and I did that. I have kids at home and there’s kids out there watching the game too, so I apologize.”

The play was initially flagged for unnecessary roughness, and a brief skirmish followed before officials disqualified Jefferson. Thornton was put in concussion protocol after the hit.

“I saw a football play,” coach Jim Harbaugh said. “That’s what I saw.”

Jefferson had been physical throughout the game, delivering multiple big hits, including a jarring shot on Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice that forced an incompletion on third down earlier in the game.

“Physicality is a huge part of the game,” he said. “You have to be smart with it.”

Jefferson, who was a healthy inactive for three games this year, has become one of the most important players in the Chargers’ secondary in recent weeks.

Before this season, Jefferson had four interceptions over his first 10 seasons in the NFL. This season, Jefferson is tied for the team lead in interceptions with four while routinely delivering crushing hits to receivers who dare to catch passes over the middle of the field, as he did on Sunday.

“He’s playing really good, really good football,” Harbaugh said.

The Chargers already began Sunday’s game without safety Elijah Molden, who had a hamstring injury. Rookie safety RJ Mickens also went down with a shoulder injury. Without Jefferson, the Chargers had to rely on veteran Marcus Williams, who was elevated from the practice squad, and Kendall Williamson, who typically only plays special teams.

The video assistant referee causes controversy every week in the Premier League, but how are decisions made, and are they correct?

This season, we take a look at the major incidents to examine and explain the process both in terms of the VAR protocol and the laws of the game.

All screenshots photo credit: NBC

Andy Davies (@andydaviesref) is a former Select Group referee, with over 12 seasons on the elite list, working across the Premier League and Championship. With extensive experience at the elite level, he has operated within the VAR space in the Premier League and offers a unique insight into the processes, rationale and protocols that are delivered on a Premier League matchday.

Referee: Craig Pawson
VAR: Darren England
Incident: Possible red card
Time: 45+2 minutes

What happened: Brighton’s Diego Gómez challenged Liverpool attacker Florian Wirtz. The challenge was late and high, with referee Craig Pawson deeming it a reckless challenge, giving Gómez a yellow card for his actions.

VAR decision: The referee’s call of a yellow card for Gómez was checked and confirmed by the VAR — with the challenge deemed not to be with excessive force and not serious foul play.

VAR review: Pawson’s communication would have described the challenge by Gómez as high and reckless, with a level of contact; however that contact lacked any force to meet the threshold of serious foul play.

The VAR review centered around Pawson’s wording, with any intervention only considered if the replays evidenced the contact to be different to that described on-field.

These types of situations are judged against one of two wordings in law:

• A disregard for the safety of their opponent: yellow card
• Endangering the safety of their opponent: red card

The VAR was comfortable that the referee’s judgement was sound and that it met the criteria for a yellow card.

Verdict: A correct on-field judgment by Pawson, with Gómez showing a disregard for the safety of his opponent as opposed to endangering him, and the VAR was right not to intervene.

However, Gómez was fortunate. It is a fine line with these types of challenges, and more direct contact to the chest of Wirtz with his straight-legged approach, and the VAR review would have produced a red card for the Brighton player.

Referee: Rob Jones
VAR: John Brooks
Incident: Possible red card
Time: 59 minutes

What happened: Wolves midfielder Hwang Hee-Chan, having overrun the ball in midfield, threw himself into a challenge on Arsenal defender Myles Lewis-Skelly from distance. Jones deemed the challenge to be reckless, as opposed to serious foul play, and only cautioned the Wolves player.

VAR decision: The referee’s call of a yellow card was confirmed by the VAR — with Hwang deemed to be pulling out of the challenge on Lewis-Skelly and the contact on the foot deemed to be just a reckless foul and nothing more serious.

VAR review: Watching the live feed, this challenge would have immediately caused concern for Brooks in the VAR hub and his initial thought would naturally have gravitated toward upgrading it to a red card.

But Jones and his team took their time to process the information between them. Brooks’ review would have been thorough, looking at a number of replays, as the challenge was borderline against all the criteria considered for a red card offense. However, for him to recommend an on-field review, he needed clear and obvious evidence that an error had been made.

Hwang did overrun the ball and was, to a degree, out of control, while he did make contact with his opponent at speed. The contact, however, was on the top of Lewis-Skelly’s foot, with Hwang attempting to retract his leading foot at the point of contact, which reduced the force to a low level.

These considerations led the VAR to agree with the on-field decision of a yellow card.

Verdict: The VAR was correct to not intervene in this event, and the process he employed highlighted a high level of application in his role. The initial challenge looked a poor one in real time, however, it is the role of the VAR to remove all emotion and operate only with the facts and pictures presented.

Hwang can consider himself fortunate that his reckless challenge was at a low point of contact, which is the only thing that saved him.

On reflection, Jones will be disappointed with his body shape and positioning at the point the challenge was made. He was caught pivoting on the spot, so his view of the tackle was blocked and he left himself without the opportunity to view the contact in full. Instead, he was forced to rely on his assistants to feed the information as best they could.