The Dallas Cowboys saw their playoff chances tank by dropping back below .500 on the season in 34-26 meltdown on "Sunday Night Football" against the Minnesota Vikings at AT&T Stadium.

The Cowboys' top-rated offense got off to a hot start with momentum generated by an interception by defensive tackle Quinnen Williams on the Vikings' second play from scrimmage, but from that point on, there wasn't much for the home fans to cheer about.

Defensively, Dallas (6-7-1) allowed more good to happen than bad for Minnesota (6-8) following that first drive. The Vikings had been eliminated from playoff contention earlier in the day, but the 28th-ranked offense put up one of its best showings of the season on the road.

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Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy built on an impressive turnover-less showing last week with a new career-high 250 passing yards on 15 of 24 completions with two touchdowns.

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott finished six yards short of franchise history with what would've been his fourth straight game with at least 300 passing yards. Prescott was 23 of 38 for 294 yards.

McCarthy found receiver Jalen Nailor for both of his passing scores, with the second putting Minnesota up by eight with under 10 minutes to play.

Dallas' ensuing possession was stopped with Prescott's pass underneath to running back Malik Davis, who scored a touchdown earlier, getting met by a wall of defenders. The 4th-and-7 pass was inches short of extending the drive with five and a half minutes remaining.

The Cowboys defense was on the verge of getting off the field, but a first-down rush on 4th-and-1 kept the ball in motion for Minnesota with under three minutes to go, forcing the Cowboys to begin using timeouts to stop the clock.

Kicker Will Reichard made a 53-yard field goal to put the Vikings up by two possessions and more or less put the finishing touches on the game. Aubrey's 41-yard field goal with 19 seconds left brought it back to a one-score deficit, but the Cowboys then did not recover the ultra-rare on-side kick.

In our Cowboys "Winners & Losers" breakdown from Week 15, we stay on special teams, which turned out to equal as one of the biggest helping and hurting factors in the game for Dallas.

WINNER: Special Teams

Perhaps one of Brandon Aubrey's best highlights of the season came when the kicker caught the over-the-head flip from holder Bryan Anger on a fake field goal to rush for a first down and extend Dallas' first drive, which resulted in a Javonte Williams rushing touchdown.

In the return game, KaVontae Turpin brushed off his recent poor decision-making by exploding off a few chunk returns on kickoffs that would set up the Cowboys beyond their own 40-yard line. Turpin totaled 124 yards on four kick returns.

It was the first successful fake field goal attempt for Dallas since Dec. 2001 in a game at the Arizona Cardinals. Aubrey would account for 11 of the Cowboys point total, but if his accuracy would have been a tad sharper, the Cowboys might've been closer to getting a victory.

LOSER: Rare Brandon Aubrey Misses

Aubrey made four field goals, but his two misses (from 51 and 59 yards away) could have put Dallas in front in a second half that did not see a Dallas touchdown. With the offense playing stagnantly, those were unfortunate missed opportunities for points.

The two kicks that were pushed to the right matched Aubrey's amount of missed field goals for the entire season.

WINNER: J.J. McCarthy

In one of the few prime-time appearances for the first-year starting quarterback, McCarthy enjoyed a trend that the Cowboys defense has been accustomed to allowing: the opposing quarterback putting up the best numbers of their season.

McCarthy showed poise and confidence throughout by not being afraid to stand tall in the pocket and complete passes into tight windows. His banged-up offensive line also rose to the occasion to not allow a Cowboys sack in the game.

The former national champion at Michigan now prepares for a Week 16 game against the Cowboys' rival New York Giants in the Big Apple with as much positive energy as he's felt since taking the reins.

That energy is a familiar one for QBs who have played against the Dallas Cowboys.

LOSER: George Pickens

Pickens drew criticism after the Cowboys' loss in Week 14 for appearing to run routes at half speed. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer preached that Pickens wouldn't lose a spot in the offensive formula due to an excellent week of practice, but against the Vikings, it was somehow easy to forget that the NFL's third-leading receiver was active.

Prescott found Pickens for his reception near the end of the second quarter to set up a field goal that tied the game at 17 at the break.

For the game, Pickens finished with 33 yards on three catches. He has surpassed 1,100 yards on the season, but has posted just 70 yards on eight grabs over Dallas' last two games.

Receiver co-star CeeDee Lamb cleared concussion protocol after last week's fall, and second-year prospect Ryan Flournoy continued his breakout season as a third-option pass-catcher, so those factors might have limited the looks in Pickens' direction.

But overall, this wasn't the product he was hoping to display for a bounce-back effort.

WINNER: Coverage on Justin Jefferson

Trevon Diggs was ruled out again for the Cowboys secondary, leaving the starting jobs to DaRon Bland and rookie Shavon Revel to go against the dynamic receiver duo of Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison of Minnesota.

Young slot corner Caelen Carson was burned on a big play downfield to Addison, but overall, the coverage against Jefferson was everything you could've hoped for.

It's been a down year for the former All-Pro out of LSU with McCarthy now under center, and those lowly numbers continued on Sunday night - even versus the league's worst passing defense.

Bland was the defender on Minnesota's first touchdown of the game to Nailor, but the Cowboys' newest high-priced corner was solid against one of the NFL's best receivers: Jefferson was targeted a handful of times in the first half when guarded by Bland, but he brought in just one reception.

Jefferson caught two passes for 22 yards for the game. Revel let Jefferson get free in the back of the end zone in the third quarter with Minnesota down six, but Jefferson let it go through his hands. He had another touchdown grab called back by a penalty in the first half.

The chemistry between Jefferson and McCarthy isn't quite there yet ... so, for an embattled Cowboys secondary that needs all the help it can get at times, that's a win.

Ultimately McCarthy was able to lead a winning effort without his best player, again.

LOSER: Multiple Cowboys Injuries

Williams missed the majority of the first half with a shoulder injury after scoring the Cowboys' first touchdown. Other injury scares sustained in this one included left guard Tyler Smith, defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, fullback Hunter Luepke, and replacement lineman Nate Thomas.

Starters in left tackle Tyler Guyton (ankle) and Diggs (knee/concussion) were already out, but in this pivotal stretch of must-win games, the Cowboys will be desperate to be at as close to full strength as possible.

After next Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Cowboys will go on a short week with Week 17's Christmas Day game on a Thursday.

WINNER: Javonte Williams

The Vikings entered as the third-best passing defense in football, so this game plan likely was built around Williams - the Cowboys' newest 1,000-yard rusher.

Williams excelled in the second half with many of his longest runs coming after his return from the shoulder injury.

He finished the game with 91 yards on 6.1 yards a carry.

The Chargers are right behind the Vikings with the fourth-best defense against the pass game, so this rushing rhythm (but, more importantly health) will be crucial in the No. 1-ranked Cowboys offense continuing to thrive.

LOSER: Playoffs Chances

Dallas needed to win its final four games and still have the division-leading Philadelphia Eagles drop two.

Now with a loss and three games remaining, the Cowboys' chances at making the playoffs tank below 10 percent. Philadelphia won in a shutout earlier on Sunday and plays Washington twice along with the Buffalo Bills to close the year.

Dallas turns the page to the Chargers, who will travel to Arlington on Dec. 21 after eliminating the AFC powerhouse Kansas City Chiefs in a 16-13 win on Sunday.