End of three: Dallas 21, Minnesota 14.

13:16: The Cowboys stop the Vikings on the first drive of the second half, and after the punt, get the ball at the 35.

11:18: On third and five from the 40, Romo scrambles and comes up a yard short of the first-down marker. The Cowboys punt and pin Minnesota back at the 7.

9:36: On the first play, Tavaris Jackson has to get the ball off before he’s nailed near the goal line, and gets called for intentional grounding, which puts the ball just outside the white line. On the next two plays, Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor just miss getting tackled for safeties, and the Vikings have to punt.

Chris Kluwe gets off an excellent kick, and Crayton has to retreat to the Dallas 40 to take the 58-yard boomer. He returns it to the 49, but the Cowboys will start at the Minnesota 36 after a Vikings’ player gets a personal foul for going out of bounds and not making an attempt to get back in.

Dallas is virtually being handed a golden opportunity to score, so we’ll see if they take full advantage of it.

7:45: Barber busts a nine-yard run on the first play of the drive, and then gets a first down to the 25. On the next play, Romo finds T.O. on the right sideline inside the 5, and the Cowboys are in business. T.O. has gotten his wish and has seen plenty of balls his way, and is already over 100 yards.

7:00: Two plays later, Barber barrels in from the 1, and the Cowboys are an extra point away from tying it. Or, maybe not. One ref made the touchdown call, while the other didn’t, so we’ll wait and see what it is. And, after a few seconds of deliberation, it is indeed ruled a touchdown, but Minnesota’s Brad Childress will challenge the call. Wade Phillips already used both of his challenges (won one, lost one), so the coaches are defintely making use of the red flags today.

After the short review, the play is rightfully upheld, and the Vikings allow their first rushing touchdown of the season, as Barber gets into the end zone for the first time since the Chicago game.

4:00: The Vikings convert a third and 8 from the Dallas 26 with a 16-yard completion from Jackson to Bobby Wade, and the next two plays get the Vikings into scoring position as Jackson scrambles for 12 yards, and Peterson busts loose for a 15-yard run before he’s upended at the Dallas 31.

3:05: Dallas makes an impressive defensive stop, stuffing Taylor for no gain on first down and then forcing two incompletions from Jackson to make the Vikings have to attempt a 48-yard field goal. The Vikings have to use their second timeout due to unpreparedness.

2:52: Chris Canty is up front for a reason. The 6′7 Canty uses his frame with optimal effectiveness, blocking Longwell’s field goal. Pat Watkins picks up the loose ball and takes it the other way, streaking down the left sideline into the end zone for a 67-yard touchdown return to put the Cowboys ahead.

End of the third: Peterson and Taylor gain 12 and 16 yards on the first play of the ensuing drive, but from there, the Cowboys defense stands tall and stops the Vikings short on a 3rd down to get the ball back as we begin the fourth.