Cowboys 27, Vikings 23
Tony Romo found Dwayne Harris for a 7-yard touchdown with 35 seconds left in the fourth quarter as host Dallas rallied to clip Minnesota.
Romo was 34-of-51 for 337 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Cowboys (5-4) bounced back from a last-second loss at Detroit last week. Romo was 7-of-9 on the decisive drive and Jason Witten led the receiving corps with eight catches for 102 yards and a score.
Adrian Peterson rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown while Christian Ponder completed 25-of-37 passes for 236 yards and a score as the Vikings (1-7) dropped their fourth straight game. Ponder added a rushing TD but was intercepted once and lost a fumble in the end zone.
Ponder’s 6-yard touchdown run capped an 11-play drive with 1:41 left in the first half and sent Minnesota into the break with a 10-6 lead. Dallas quickly took control in the second half, scoring on the opening drive when Romo hit Witten with a 26-yard TD pass and going up 20-10 one play later when George Selvie sacked Ponder and forced a fumble, which Nick Hayden recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.
The Vikings pulled within 20-17 on Ponder’s 31-yard TD pass to Kyle Rudolph with 8:11 left in the third quarter and regained the lead on Peterson’s 11-yard scoring burst with 5:40 to play. The star running back appeared to be tackled short of the end zone but refused to go down, with some help from tight end Chase Ford, and dragged a trio of defenders with him across the goal line.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Cowboys RB DeMarco Murray (knee) returned from a two-game absence and was held to 31 yards on four carries. … Vikings RT Phil Loadholt suffered a concussion in the second quarter and did not return. … Minnesota QB Josh Freeman was inactive for the game, with Matt Cassel serving as Ponder’s backup.