ARLINGTON, Texas — “Sunday Night Football” between the Minnesota Vikings (5-8) and the Dallas Cowboys (6-6-1) in Week 15 is a de facto playoff game.
The Vikings will be officially eliminated from playoff contention if defeated, and for a Cowboys squad that now has just an 11.9% chance to reach the postseason according to CBS’ SportsLine model, Dallas is essentially in the same place as their opponent.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott feels the burden of needing to win Dallas’ final four games to maintain the team’s shrinking chances to reach the playoffs even when he’s relaxing at home.
“That’s a good question. It’s not heavy,” Prescott said Thursday. “Even if I feel it — and obviously I think about it a lot — I say that to say that I want that. That’s unfortunately the situation that we’ve put ourselves in, and it’s the only way that we can get out of it.
“It’s not like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this is on me,’ or that it’s stressful,” he continued. “This is just the avenue that we have to go, and the only way we can get out of this is handling our business. Whether we’re cheering on other teams to lose or not, more importantly, we’ve got to come in each and every day and focus on the now. Just be present, and when you’re able to do that, you’ll be OK with the result at the end of the day.”
The weight on Prescott won’t be as heavy as it was in the Cowboys’ 44-30 Week 14 loss at Detroit. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb will return 10 days after suffering a concussion against the Lions, and cornerback Trevon Diggs (knee) said Friday that he expects to play Sunday night after being sidelined the last seven games for physical and intangible reasons. Diggs is officially listed as questionable to face Minnesota quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who ranks as the worst in the NFL in completion percentage (56%), touchdown-to-interception ratio (9-10, 0.9) and passer rating (67.4) this season among 34 qualified quarterbacks.
Where to watch Cowboys vs. VikingsDate: Sunday, Dec. 14 | Time: 8:20 p.m. ETLocation: AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)TV: NBCFollow: CBS Sports AppOdds: Cowboys -5.5; O/U 48.5 (via DraftKings Sportsbook)