MINNEAPOLIS — One on one, Deion Sanders usually comes out the winner. But if it’s two against one, even the skill of football’s best cornerback may not be enough to prevent disaster.
Such is the dilemma the Cowboys face today when they meet receivers Cris Carter, Randy Moss and the rest of the Vikings in a wild-card playoff game at the Metrodome. Carter and Moss are arguably the best pair of receivers on any NFL team and capable of dominating a game on their own. It is a concern the Cowboys will likely address early and often even with a healthy Sanders ready to cover at least one of the receivers one-on-one.
If the Cowboys (8-8) are to have any chance of winning and advancing, they must contain both receivers, whose proficiency for the big play is a reason why the Vikings (10-6) are considered one of the most dangerous teams in the playoffs. The duo combined for 2,654 yards receiving this season, the second-highest total in league history behind Mark Clayton and Mark Duper who totaled 41 yards more for the Miami Dolphins in 1984. Moss caught 80 passes for an NFC-best 1,413 yards and 11 touchdowns.
“You could have Lester Hayes and Mike Haynes and that still wouldn’t be enough to cover their guys,” Sanders said of Carter and Moss.
At least the Cowboys go into the game feeling better about their secondary than they did in their last two games against the Vikings. Sanders, out with a toe injury, didn’t even play in last year’s Thanksgiving Day game won by the Vikings 46-36 when Moss caught three passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns. Sanders also was slowed by a bad hamstring when the team met two months ago, in a game the Vikings won 27-17
Also there’s a chance cornerbacks Kevin Smith and Kevin Mathis will be available for the first time in nine weeks. Along with good coverage in the secondary, the Cowboys will need to have a consistent and effective pass rush to unsettle quarterback Jeff George.
“I don’t think you can go in and say if we stop one [receiver], that’s going to be good enough,” Cowboys coach Chan Gailey said. “I think you have to say to yourself, we’ve got to try to take both of these guys out of the game to a certain degree. Not take out, but you’ve got to slow them down.”
Easier said than done. Moss and Carter combined 15 catches, three touchdowns and 207 yards in their win over the Cowboys in November. That followed the 298 receiving yards they combined for in last year’s game. How much a healthy Sanders can change those numbers remains to be scene. Sanders vowed to devote some extra time studying films in the hope of finding some answers.
“I’m better this time,” he said. “I think it will allow us to do more things and not just sit back and wait on what they’re going to do. We’ll be able to force them into situations.”
Moss, 22, is eagerly looking forward to his second year of playoff competition after the Vikings lost in the NFC Championship last year after going 15-1 during the regular season.
“As far as mental preparation toward my second playoff, I think I’ve prepared for it and hopefully, if the team wants to ride my shoulders all the way to the Super Bow, I think I’m going to have to take that challenge and meet it.
“Our goal’s the Super Bowl,” he said. “If we don’t get there, we’ll just be a big disappointment for the second year in a row.”
Said Carter, “I think we’re far more relaxed this year than we were last year because we were in a territory that we were not familiar with. If we can create momentum in the playoffs, I think a lot of teams are going to be not necessarily afraid, but they’re going to be watching out for us.”
Meanwhile, the Vikings signed former Giants linebacker Corey Miller during the week as insurance in the event middle linebacker Ed McDaniel can’t play. McDaniel has a right knee sprain and is questionable. Miller was active for five games this season with the Vikings, making 14 tackles and one interception.
Prediction: Vikings 27,Cowboys 17
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