Takeaways: Another sharp game from J.J. McCarthy lifts Vikings to second win in a row

ARLINGTON, TEXAS — The Vikings are on a winning streak for the first time this season. The fact their back-to-back wins have come in their young quarterback’s two most professional outings of the season does not seem like a coincidence.

They won a second straight game for the first time this year, overtaking the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on Sunday night for a 34-26 victory that further damaged Dallas’ playoff hopes. J.J. McCarthy, whose first throw of the game was tipped and intercepted for a turnover that set up an early Cowboys touchdown, didn’t turn the ball over again and finished with a career-high 250 passing yards and two touchdowns while completing 15 of his 24 throws and running for another score.

The Vikings (6-8) trailed by six late in the third quarter in a game that will go down as McCarthy’s second comeback win in a prime-time road game. They scored 17 points in the game’s final 16 minutes to pull away from the Cowboys (6-7-1).

“Proud of our team, proud of the fight,” coach Kevin O’Connell said. “We’re just going to keep putting everything we got into every week. We got the right guys in that locker room, and I’m just proud of this organization with what we were able to do tonight.”

On a night when the Vikings struggled to run the ball, they had to lean on their passing game to help them outscore a prolific Cowboys offense. McCarthy responded with one of his best nights of the season, recovering from an early interception to make a number of critical throws that helped the Vikings sustain drives and finish with touchdowns. He missed several throws to Justin Jefferson, but his mobility and verve late in the game made the difference.

“When the big plays were there, he made the plays for the most part,” O’Connell said of McCarthy. “There’s still a couple of throws that maybe he’d like to have back, but when you’re making good decisions, you get your ops.”

The Vikings were eliminated from the NFC playoff race before kickoff Sunday, and their game against the Cowboys was their first of four in which they will have no postseason stakes. But it doesn’t mean the game didn’t matter. It’s not the first time this season McCarthy has won in prime time on the road.

On a fourth-and-1 call from the Cowboys 1-yard line, the Vikings brought Blake Brandel in as an eligible receiver to create a heavy set with six linemen. McCarthy appeared to hand off to Jordan Mason on a dive play, and the Cowboys crashed to stop Mason in his tracks. But McCarthy kept the ball on his back hip and strolled toward the end zone with nobody chasing him. He did the Griddy with one arm as he strutted into the end zone for the score that tied the score at 14-14 in the second quarter.

“I knew the play and I knew what was happening, and the action was so good, even I had to take a double take right there,” O’Connell said.

After Brandon Aubrey missed wide right for the second time in the game, pushing his 59-yard kick outside the goalposts, the Vikings extended their lead with a fourth-quarter touchdown drive that ended with McCarthy hitting Jalen Nailor for the second time in the game. The score put the Vikings up 31-23, as the Vikings fans in attendance started a Skol chant amid the stunned Cowboys fans.

“I think he hopefully learned a lesson tonight of, we can be explosive and have some opportunities as the game goes on by continuing to throw completions,” O’Connell said of McCarthy.

Dec. 21 at New York Giants, noon (Fox)