Wild Card Round: Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys (Texas Stadium), the bracket opens here. Kickoff: Sat December 28, 1996 at 4:00pm. Winner advances to the divisional round. Loser starts the offseason early.[1][2]
Wild card weekend is the most chaotic football the calendar produces. Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium is the kind of game that decides whether a season was a long buildup or a quick exit. These are the games where the second-tier playoff teams have to prove they belong. Most don't. The few who do define the rest of January.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Texas Stadium shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
Minnesota Vikings versus Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Round. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of Minnesota Vikings-Dallas Cowboys cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 10-6 | L2 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 9-7 | W5 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8-8 | W3 |
| Houston Oilers | 8-8 | W1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 4-12 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 11-5 | W1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 10-6 | W1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 9-7 | L1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 8-8 | W2 |
| New York Jets | 1-15 | L7 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 13-3 | L1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 9-7 | L3 |
| San Diego Chargers | 8-8 | W1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 7-9 | L2 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 7-9 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina Panthers | 12-4 | W7 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 12-4 | W2 |
| St. Louis Rams | 6-10 | W2 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 3-13 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 3-13 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 13-3 | W5 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 9-7 | L1 |
| Chicago Bears | 7-9 | L1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6-10 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 5-11 | L5 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 10-6 | L1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 10-6 | W2 |
| Washington Redskins | 9-7 | W1 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 7-9 | -- |
| New York Giants | 6-10 | L2 |
Minnesota Vikings None, Dallas Cowboys None
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 0071515 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 7 | 23 | 7 | 3 | 730374040 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | Troy Aikman 2 yard rush ( Chris Boniol kick) | 0-7 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | Chris Boniol 28 yard field goal | 0-10 |
| Cowboys | Emmitt Smith 37 yard rush ( Chris Boniol kick) | 0-17 |
| Cowboys | George Teague 29 yard interception return ( Chris Boniol kick) | 0-24 |
| Cowboys | Chris Boniol 31 yard field goal | 0-27 |
| Cowboys | Chris Boniol 22 yard field goal | 0-30 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Vikings | Cris Carter 30 yard pass from Brad Johnson ( Scott Sisson kick) | 7-30 |
| Cowboys | Emmitt Smith 1 yard rush ( Chris Boniol kick) | 7-37 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | Chris Boniol 25 yard field goal | 7-40 |
| Vikings | Brad Johnson 5 yard rush ( Cris Carter pass from Brad Johnson ) | 15-40 |
Dallas Cowboys defeated Minnesota Vikings 40-15 at Texas Stadium in the Wild Card Round. The final scoring play was Vikings: Brad Johnson 5 yard rush ( Cris Carter pass from Brad Johnson ). The 25-point margin made it a one-sided afternoon. Top line of the day: Brad Johnson: 208 pass yards on 15-of-27, 1 TD, 2 INT. Dallas Cowboys advance to the divisional round.[1][2]
Dallas Cowboys walked out of Texas Stadium as the team that survived a Wild Card Round Minnesota Vikings will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 40-15. This was a 25-point margin, which is unusual for this round of the postseason and tells a story about which staff out-prepared the other from the opening series. The final scoring play came from Vikings: Brad Johnson 5 yard rush ( Cris Carter pass from Brad Johnson ). Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. Dallas Cowboys advance to the divisional round.
Dallas Cowboys 40, Minnesota Vikings 15. Round: Wild Card Round. Attendance: 64682. Q1: 1 scoring play. Q2: 5 scoring plays. Q3: 2 scoring plays. Q4: 2 scoring plays. Top performers:
- Brad Johnson: 208 pass yards on 15-of-27, 1 TD, 2 INT
- Emmitt Smith: 116 rush yards on 17 carries
- Michael Irvin: 8 catches for 103 yards
Wild Card Round, played at Texas Stadium. Final: Minnesota Vikings 15, Dallas Cowboys 40, with Dallas Cowboys taking the result by 25. **First quarter**
- Cowboys: Troy Aikman 2 yard rush ( Chris Boniol kick)
Second quarter
- Cowboys: Chris Boniol 28 yard field goal
- Cowboys: Emmitt Smith 37 yard rush ( Chris Boniol kick)
- Cowboys: George Teague 29 yard interception return ( Chris Boniol kick)
- Cowboys: Chris Boniol 31 yard field goal
- Cowboys: Chris Boniol 22 yard field goal
Third quarter
- Vikings: Cris Carter 30 yard pass from Brad Johnson ( Scott Sisson kick)
- Cowboys: Emmitt Smith 1 yard rush ( Chris Boniol kick)
Fourth quarter
- Cowboys: Chris Boniol 25 yard field goal
- Vikings: Brad Johnson 5 yard rush ( Cris Carter pass from Brad Johnson )
Top performers
- Brad Johnson: 208 pass yards on 15-of-27, 1 TD, 2 INT
- Emmitt Smith: 116 rush yards on 17 carries
- Michael Irvin: 8 catches for 103 yards
The 25-point margin says most of what needs saying about how the day went; the box score is the rest.
| Vikings | Cowboys | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 12 | 27 |
| Total Yards | 268 | 438 |
| Turnovers | 6 | 2 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 15/27 | 21/31 |
| Pass yards | 208 | 192 |
| Pass TD | 1 | 0 |
| Interceptions | 2 | 1 |
| Sacks taken | 2 | 1 |
| Sack yards lost | 3 | 9 |
| Net pass yards | 205 | 183 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 15 | 46 |
| Rush yards | 63 | 255 |
| Rush TD | 1 | 3 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 4 | 2 |
| Fumbles lost | 4 | 1 |
| Penalties | 3 | 5 |
| Penalty yards | 15 | 54 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIN | |||||
| Brad Johnson | 15/27 | 208 | 1 | 2 | |
| DAL | |||||
| Troy Aikman | 19/29 | 178 | 0 | 1 | |
| Jason Garrett | 2/2 | 14 | 0 | 0 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIN | ||||
| Amp Lee | 7 | 26 | 0 | 8 |
| Leroy Hoard | 3 | 21 | 0 | 12 |
| Brad Johnson | 3 | 14 | 1 | 8 |
| Scottie Graham | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| DAL | ||||
| Emmitt Smith | 17 | 116 | 2 | 37 |
| Sherman Williams | 17 | 67 | 0 | 20 |
| Herschel Walker | 8 | 62 | 0 | 23 |
| Daryl Johnston | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Troy Aikman | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Kevin Williams | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIN | ||||
| Qadry Ismail | 3 | 78 | 0 | 50 |
| Amp Lee | 2 | 59 | 0 | 43 |
| Cris Carter | 3 | 36 | 1 | 30 |
| Jake Reed | 1 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Andrew Jordan | 1 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Charles Evans | 3 | 9 | 0 | 7 |
| Leroy Hoard | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Scottie Graham | 1 | -1 | 0 | -1 |
| DAL | ||||
| Michael Irvin | 8 | 103 | 0 | 21 |
| Kelvin Martin | 2 | 30 | 0 | 18 |
| Emmitt Smith | 4 | 26 | 0 | 15 |
| Eric Bjornson | 3 | 16 | 0 | 7 |
| Herschel Walker | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Daryl Johnston | 2 | 7 | 0 | 5 |
| Sherman Williams | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
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