Minnesota Vikings At Dallas Cowboys: Second Quarter Open Thread

For the second game in a row, the Minnesota Vikings got their hands on the ball first, and looked to have a little momentum going early, but that was effectively squelched by a holding penalty on Charlie Johnson. The Vikings wound up punting the ball away, and the Cowboys took over at their own 21-yard line.

As you would expect, the Cowboys met little resistance from the Minnesota defense on their first possession, as Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, and the returning DeMarco Murray took turns gaining big chunks of yardage. However, the Vikings got a rare third down stop as the Dallas drive stalled on a dropped pass. The Cowboys brought on Dan Bailey, and his 41-yard attempt gave the Cowboys a 3-0 lead.

Cordarrelle Patterson got another big return on the next possession, taking the ball 45 yards to the Minnesota 36-yard line. Showing a no-huddle look for the second straight drive, the Vikings pushed deep into Dallas territory after a series of very nice throws by Christian Ponder. Facing a third-and-7 from the Dallas 8-yard line, the Vikings ran a draw play to Adrian Peterson that was stopped just short, and the Vikings brought in Blair Walsh for a 23-yard field goal attempt. It split the uprights, and the Vikings found themselves tied with Dallas at 3.

On Dallas' next possession, the Vikings. . .forced a three-and-out? Yes, they certainly did. . .and a very nice punt return by Marcus Sherels gave Minnesota the ball at the Dallas 37-yard line. The Vikings got a first down, and that's where we stand at the start of the second quarter, with a first-and-10 from the Dallas 25-yard line.

Things are going much better than expected so far, folks. Can the purple and gold keep this up?