Vikings coach Brad Childress gave some of the credit to the national media and also some local and Dallas media for his team's great performance in a 34-3 victory over the Cowboys on Sunday.
The Cowboys, after beating the Philadelphia Eagles in the final game of the regular season and in their first playoff game by a combined score of 58-14, were being hailed by some as one of the best teams in the league. Some media members didn't believe the Vikings had a chance to win and advance to play the Saints in New Orleans in the NFC Championship Game.
"We grew a little bit weary of hearing that hype all week long about the Dallas Cowboys [being] the hottest team in the playoffs," Childress said. "... I mean, our guys had it like right up to here by about Tuesday. So all I asked them to do is just choke it back, guys, choke it back. We'll do our talking on the field. They did a great job with that."
The statistics of the game demonstrated that the big names on the Cowboys roster -- those who had big games in the two victories over the Eagles and a 24-17 victory at New Orleans that was the Saints' first loss after 13 wins -- were pretty well shut down by the Vikings.
Wide receiver Miles Austin had a breakout season and made the Pro Bowl. But on Sunday, Austin caught four passes for 34 yards.
Cowboys running back Felix Jones, who averaged 7.7 yards per carry in the two victories against the Eagles, rushed 14 times for 69 yards (a 4.9 average). Marion Barber III had rushed eight times for 14 yards, a 1.8 average.
Quarterback Tony Romo, who had been hailed as the next Brett Favre, had a 66.1 passer rating, compared with Favre's 134.4.
Defensively, the Cowboys had only three sacks (the Vikings had six). The Vikings' offensive line did a great job blocking defensive linemen Marcus Spears and Jay Ratliff and linebackers DeMarcus Ware, Anthony Spencer and Keith Brooking, who had given the Eagles fits.