The Minnesota Vikings have won 10 games and clinched a playoff spot. Still, they'd like to show the revived Dallas Cowboys where the power rests in the NFC.
The teams meet today in Texas Stadium with the NFC East-leading Cowboys (8-3) on a four-game roll and still looking for respect after their 10-loss crash dive last year."I think we're one of the better teams in the NFC and a victory over Minnesota would accomplish getting us among the elite," Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman said.
Coach Chan Gailey also is cautiously optimistic.
"We have a chance to be a very good team if we can just keep putting things together," said Gailey, whose imaginative offense has pumped new life back into Aikman, wide receiver Michael Irvin, and running back Emmitt Smith, who own three Super Bowl rings each.
The Cowboys bristle at suggestions they have something to prove against the Vikings (10-1), who are fresh off a season sweep of the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Central.
"It's not like we're a stepchild trying to show we belong in the league," Aikman said. "It's a big game. But it's not any bigger than a playoff game. I think we're improving every week and we want to show it."
Still, the Cowboys will be more relaxed, because it's one of the few times they can play a big game on national television without the weight of lofty expectations.
"We don't have any pressure because people didn't expect us to be this good anyway," Smith said. "This is a different kind of pressure. It is the kind of game that makes you want to play your best. It's a challenge. We're playing a team that's having a great year. We'll just try to play our best and let other people decide whether we are back among the elite."
Minnesota coach Dennis Green deflected any suggestions the Vikings needed to win the game to prove they're the top team in the NFC.
"You don't get accolades until you get a championship," Green said. "We're just trying to get our 11th win."
Minnesota beat the Cowboys 44-38 in overtime in 1987. The Vikings have won their past three regular season games in Texas Stadium but lost to Dallas 40-15 in an NFC playoff game following the 1996 season.
Dallas has a 20-9-1 record in Thanksgiving games.