The Vikings returned to work on Wednesday, three days after winning the NFL's most dramatic game of the year, four days before a nationally televised matchup between NFC contenders and eight days before facing Bill Belichick on Thanksgiving night.
Between a game that elevated his team's national profile and two matchups with Super Bowl-winning head coaches next week, Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell shifted the team's Wednesday practice to a jog-through to help players recover after an overtime thriller some called one of the hardest games of their careers.
Part of the Vikings' work this week is to get their emotions back to level ground, too.
"We've got to have a great week of prep coming off of a pretty emotional victory last weekend, and we've got to be able to turn these guys over and have them ready to roll because it's going to be a heck of a challenge," O'Connell said. "Excited to get back home and hopefully our fans are excited as well."
It figures to be a charged environment at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, for a late-afternoon kickoff on national TV against a team whose outsized profile, history against the Vikings and recent success in Minneapolis gets the fanbase irritated. The Cowboys have won in each of their three trips to U.S. Bank Stadium, with a different quarterback each time (Dak Prescott in 2016, Andy Dalton in 2020 and Cooper Rush in 2021).
The 6-3 Cowboys blew a two-touchdown lead last Sunday against Green Bay in coach Mike McCarthy's return to Lambeau Field. Their defense, which has allowed the fifth-fewest points in the league, will test the Vikings' offense with a deep group of pass rushers.
"I mean, they just have so many guys up front that can really wreak havoc," O'Connell said. "They get one-on-ones a lot of different ways, and obviously [Micah] Parsons lines up in a lot of spots. He really is kind of a hybrid-type player that is one of the best at whatever position he's playing at in our league. [Demarcus] Lawrence has always been a focal point, a problem, whenever you've played this team over his career there, and then they have a lot of other guys that really can get a great rush or two in a game.
"I've told our team, you cannot let one snap go by— because if you let one play go, that can be the play that changes the game. So [we've] just got to be at our best. It's why we're working and making sure we turn these guys over so they feel good."
The Vikings have spent the first part of the week in a larger national spotlight, with the victory in Buffalo leading talk shows to change their tune on the Vikings' legitimacy as contenders.
Inside their practice facility, the Vikings quarterback who relishes his monotonous routine says he's paid little attention to the national narrative.
"I go to my house, I play with my kids, I come back here, I grind, and it's really boring, back and forth," Kirk Cousins said. "After this many years of playing — I guess this is Year 8 starting, week after week — you have your routine, you have your process and you just don't deviate. When you lose, you don't deviate. When you win, you don't deviate. You just sort of methodically go about your process week in and week out, and that's what I'll keep doing."
After the Cowboys game, it's a Thanksgiving night matchup with the 5-4 Patriots. Then, the 6-3 Jets — who snatched second place in the AFC East from the Bills after the Vikings' win on Sunday — come to town.
The 8-1 Vikings are tied with the Eagles for the best record in the NFC, and could secure the conference's only first-round bye if they are a game better than Philadelphia the rest of the way.
Their schedule is difficult enough, and the stakes are high enough, that any further reminiscing about the Bills game will have to be left to others.
"I know that we have a very popular game, but if we focus on anything outside of our preparation for the Dallas Cowboys, I think I'd be doing a disservice to our team, and I think our players understand that, as well," O'Connell said. "This thing has a way of playing out where, I believe, the teams that deserve to be talked about will be talked about in the end."