| NFC Wild Card Playoff |
| Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys |
| Game Statistics & Box Score |
| Date: December 28, 1996 Location: Irving, TX Venue: Texas Stadium Attendance: 64682 |
| Weather: Overcast Temp: 72 F Humidty: 43% Wind: 12 mph |
| Score By Quarters | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota VikingsMIN | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 15 |
| Dallas CowboysDAL | 7 | 23 | 7 | 3 | 40 |
| Qtr | Team | Scoring Plays | MIN | DAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas CowboysDAL | Troy Aikman 2 run (Chris Boniol kick) | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | Dallas CowboysDAL | Chris Boniol 28 FG | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | Dallas CowboysDAL | Emmitt Smith 37 run (Chris Boniol kick) | 0 | 17 |
| 2 | Dallas CowboysDAL | George Teague 29 interception return (Chris Boniol kick) | 0 | 24 |
| 2 | Dallas CowboysDAL | Chris Boniol 31 FG | 0 | 27 |
| 2 | Dallas CowboysDAL | Chris Boniol 22 FG | 0 | 30 |
| 3 | Minnesota VikingsMIN | Cris Carter 30 pass from Brad Johnson (Scott Sisson kick) | 7 | 30 |
| 3 | Dallas CowboysDAL | Emmitt Smith 1 run (Chris Boniol kick) | 7 | 37 |
| 4 | Dallas CowboysDAL | Chris Boniol 25 FG | 7 | 40 |
| 4 | Minnesota VikingsMIN | Brad Johnson 5 run (Cris Carter pass from Brad Johnson) | 15 | 40 |
| LINEUPS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | ||
| Offense | ||
| 80 | WR | Cris Carter |
| 85 | WR | Greg DeLong |
| 73 | LOT | Todd Steussie |
| 64 | LOG | Randall McDaniel |
| 62 | C | Jeff Christy |
| 71 | ROG | David Dixon |
| 77 | ROT | Korey Stringer |
| 87 | TE | Hunter Goodwin |
| 14 | QB | Brad Johnson |
| 31 | RB | Scottie Graham |
| 29 | FB | Chuck Evans |
| Defense | ||
| 95 | LDE | Fernando Smith |
| 72 | NT | Jason Fisk |
| 93 | UT | John Randle |
| 91 | RDE | Martin Harrison |
| 55 | SLB | Darryl Talley |
| 50 | MLB | Jeff Brady |
| 59 | WLB | Dixon Edwards |
| 27 | LCB | Corey Fuller |
| 24 | SS | Robert Griffith |
| 43 | FS | Orlanda Thomas |
| 20 | RCB | Dewayne Washington |
| Dallas Cowboys | ||
| Offense | ||
| 88 | WR | Michael Irvin |
| 85 | WR | Kevin Williams |
| 71 | LOT | Mark Tuinei |
| 61 | LOG | Nate Newton |
| 53 | C | Ray Donaldson |
| 73 | ROG | Larry Allen |
| 79 | ROT | Erik Williams |
| 86 | TE | Eric Bjornson |
| 8 | QB | Troy Aikman |
| 22 | RB | Emmitt Smith |
| 48 | FB | Daryl Johnston |
| Defense | ||
| 92 | LDE | Tony Tolbert |
| 95 | LDT | Chad Hennings |
| 75 | RDT | Tony Casillas |
| 96 | RDE | Shante Carver |
| 56 | SLB | Randall Godfrey |
| 55 | MLB | Fred Strickland |
| 59 | WLB | Darrin Smith |
| 26 | LCB | Kevin Smith |
| 28 | SS | Darren Woodson |
| 30 | FS | George Teague |
| 21 | RCB | Deion Sanders |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | |||||
| Amp Lee | 7 | 26 | 3.7 | 8 | 0 |
| Leroy Hoard | 3 | 21 | 7.0 | 12 | 0 |
| Brad Johnson | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 8 | 1 |
| Scottie Graham | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 |
| Dallas Cowboys | |||||
| Emmitt Smith | 17 | 116 | 6.8 | 37t | 2 |
| Sherman Williams | 17 | 67 | 3.9 | 20 | 0 |
| Herschel Walker | 8 | 62 | 7.8 | 23 | 0 |
| Daryl Johnston | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 |
| Troy Aikman | 2 | 4 | 2.0 | 2t | 1 |
| Kevin Williams | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD | TS | YL | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | |||||||||||
| Brad Johnson | 27 | 15 | 55.6 | 2 | 208 | 7.7 | 50 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 62.0 |
| Dallas Cowboys | |||||||||||
| Troy Aikman | 29 | 19 | 65.5 | 1 | 178 | 6.1 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 67.9 |
| Jason Garrett | 2 | 2 | 100.0 | 0 | 14 | 7.0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 95.8 |
| RECEIVING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | |||||
| Qadry Ismail | 3 | 78 | 26.0 | 50 | 0 |
| Cris Carter | 3 | 36 | 12.0 | 30t | 1 |
| Chuck Evans | 3 | 9 | 3.0 | 7 | 0 |
| Amp Lee | 2 | 59 | 29.5 | 43 | 0 |
| Andrew Jordan | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 |
| Jake Reed | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 |
| Leroy Hoard | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 |
| Scottie Graham | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | -1 | 0 |
| Dallas Cowboys | |||||
| Michael Irvin | 8 | 103 | 12.9 | 21 | 0 |
| Emmitt Smith | 4 | 26 | 6.5 | 15 | 0 |
| Eric Bjornson | 3 | 16 | 5.3 | 7 | 0 |
| Kelvin Martin | 2 | 30 | 15.0 | 18 | 0 |
| Daryl Johnston | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 5 | 0 |
| Herschel Walker | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 |
| Sherman Williams | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | |||||
| Orlando Thomas | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 |
| Dallas Cowboys | |||||
| George Teague | 1 | 29 | 29.0 | 29t | 1 |
| Deion Sanders | 1 | 22 | 22.0 | 22 | 0 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | |||||
| Mitch Berger | 2 | 79 | 39.5 | 48 | 0 |
| Dallas Cowboys | |||||
| John Jett | 1 | 43 | 43.0 | 43 | 0 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | ||||||
| David Palmer | 1 | 0 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 |
| Dallas Cowboys | ||||||
| Kelvin Martin | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 6 | 0 |
| KICKOFFS | NO | YDS | AVG | TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | ||||
| Mitch Berger | 3 | 219 | 73.0 | 2 |
| Dallas Cowboys | ||||
| Chris Boniol | 9 | 556 | 61.8 | 1 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | ||||||
| David Palmer | 6 | 0 | 130 | 21.7 | 38 | 0 |
| John Gerak | 1 | 0 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 |
| Amp Lee | 1 | 0 | 11 | 11.0 | 11 | 0 |
| Dallas Cowboys | ||||||
| Herschel Walker | 1 | 0 | 21 | 21.0 | 21 | 0 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | ||
| Derrick Alexander | 1.0 | 9.0 |
| Dallas Cowboys | ||
| Broderick Thomas | 1.0 | 3.0 |
| Shante Carver | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| In Memoriam |
| NFL Boxscores |
| NFL Game Officials |
| NFL Training Camps |
| NFL Roster Limits |
| Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| Super Bowl |
| Privacy Policy |
| ©2006-2025 Pro Football Archives. All Rights Reserved. |
| Last Updated: November 13, 2025 |