The Dallas Cowboys shot themselves in the foot tonight by losing to a Vikings team that was eliminated from the playoffs before the game even started. The Cowboys are still mathematically alive, but the hope seems to be fading. The road doesn’t get easier from here. Especially not after the injury blows.

Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams certainly took some beating tonight. He suffered two blows to the head. He was able to get back to the field after the first one, but the second will put him in the concussion protocol for next week, HC Brian Schottenheimer confirmed. A major loss for the Cowboys’ defense.

The first scare came on a Minnesota run. Williams went down awkwardly, his legs tangled beneath him. He stayed on the turf for a bit while trainers checked him out. Eventually, he got to his feet and was helped off to the locker room. At the time, it looked like he might be okay.

The latter injury was harder to ignore. It was Williams’ second trip to the ground in the game. Earlier, he’d been shaken up after stuffing a third-and-short run, his momentum carrying both him and the runner past the marker. He stayed in, gutting it out, but the cumulative damage caught up to him in the fourth quarter.

He finished the night on the field, but the protocol is unavoidable now. And he wasn’t the only Cowboy who left with bumps and bruises. Running back Javonte Williams injured his shoulder on Dallas’ first scoring drive, finishing off a 1-yard touchdown run with 8:23 left in the first quarter. He exited briefly, then returned in the second half.

Schottenheimer offered a bit of good news there, saying Javonte Williams’ shoulder issue isn’t expected to linger into the week in any serious way. Small comfort, maybe, but at this point, the Cowboys will take whatever relief they can get.

But any small comforts didn’t matter after the Cowboys’ disappointing show, and Brian Schottenheimer believes he’s the one to blame.

Brian Schottenheimer points fingers at himself

The Vikings came in with a defense everyone around the league respects and an offense most people dismiss. And then they scored 31 points on Dallas anyway. When the Cowboys traded for Quinnen Williams during the bye, it felt like a turning point. For three weeks, it was. Dallas tightened up defensively and ripped off a three-game win streak.

The last two games, though, have looked uncomfortably familiar. Like the problems never really left. After the loss, Brian Schottenheimer conceded that Vikings DC Brian Flores had outcoached him.

“Brian Flores was better than me today, and I won’t sleep very good tonight, but I promise you, I’ll wake up tomorrow. I’m gonna work my a-s off, and I’m gonna figure it out.”

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Flores didn’t coach a perfect game, but his defense did what it’s done all year: keep Minnesota alive. Dallas moved the ball enough to tease you. Their inefficiency was on full display, as they managed only two touchdowns on five red-zone trips. That’s not winning football. On third down, it was even uglier: 2 for 12. Every time the Cowboys needed a play to steady things, Minnesota seemed to have an answer.

The Vikings never let Dak Prescott get comfortable. The idea was obvious from the opening series: don’t let him stand back there and survey the field. Make him move, speed him up, and hit him when you can. They sacked him twice. It marked the 25th straight game that Minnesota has recorded at least one sack.

According to The Athletic’s playoff simulator, Dallas is sitting below one percent. To keep this alive, the Cowboys would have to win out, and the Eagles would need to drop their final three games. It might be over for Dallas.