Carson wound up forcing a hit to Jefferson that was illegal in the eyes of the officiating crew. The Cowboys defensive back was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty, which favored the Vikings for 15 yards. There’s a real chance that Carson is fined for the incident involving Justin Jefferson.

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.

Brian Schottenheimer and the Cowboys special teams crew had other plans, though, and dialed up an over-the-back pitch from holder Bryan Anger to Aubrey, who caught the pitch, ran forward six yards for the first down then added a rather stylish slide to down himself before the defense could get to him.

NFL shares Cowboys news.

NFL prop picks and SGP bets for Minnesota vs. Dallas on 'Sunday Night Football' from the SportsLine Machine Learning Model AI

The Dallas Cowboys focus on defense, landing two stars from Ohio State, in a recent 3-round 2026 NFL mock draft.