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The Vikings started the second quarter with the football in Dallas territory, and on 4th-and-1 from the Dallas 16-yard line, the Vikings tried to get there with Adrian Peterson, and the Cowboys just collapsed the right side of the Minnesota offensive line, stopping Peterson for no gain and turning it over on downs, giving Dallas the ball at their own 16.
The Cowboys moved the ball down the field from there, as Tony Romo was nearly perfect on the drive for Dallas early on. But a dropped pass by Cole Beasley and sacks on consecutive plays by Brian Robison caused the Cowboys' drive to stall out. Dan Bailey came in and hit a 44-yard field goal, his second of the afternoon, to give Dallas the lead back at 6-3.
The Vikings offense then proceeded to put together another very nice drive and push into the Dallas red zone once again. A pass from Christian Ponder to Greg Jennings gave the Vikings first-and-goal from the Dallas 8 at the two-minute warning. A run by Adrian Peterson, and a throw away by Christian Ponder brought up third down from the 6-yard line, and Ponder did what Ponder does. . .ran it in himself from six yards out for a touchdown. It was his fourth rushing touchdown of the year. . .twice as many as he has passing touchdowns. . .and gave the Vikings a 10-6 lead.
It looked like the Vikings were poised to get a huge stop on the next drive, pushing the Cowboys back to 3rd-and-17, but the Cowboys gained 29 yards on a pass from Tony Romo to Terrance Williams to keep possession of the ball. The Vikings did eventually force a punt, and knelt on the football to go into the locker room with a 10-6 lead.
Adrian Peterson already has 14 carries in this one for 60 yards, which is already more touches than he's had in each of the last three games, if memory serves me correctly. Christian Ponder is 14-of-21 for 117 yards and the one rushing touchdown. Phil Loadholt reportedly went to the locker room with an injury near the end of the half, putting J'Marcus Webb in at right tackle for the purple and gold.
The Minnesota Vikings lead the Dallas Cowboys at halftime in Big D by a score of 10-6. Dallas will get the ball first coming out of the locker room. Let's see what this team can do in the second half.