ARLINGTON, Texas — There wasn’t anything for the Vikings to play for against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night at AT&T Stadium. Any hopes of making the playoffs went out the window a few hours before kickoff when the Chicago Bears beat the Cleveland Browns.

That didn’t stop quarterback J.J. McCarthy from putting together the best game of his career while leading the Vikings to a 34-26 victory. He completed 15 of 24 passes for 250 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air while adding another touchdown on the ground.

It was exactly the type of performance the Vikings needed to see from their young signal caller.

It had gone so far off the rails for McCarthy at different points this season that it was fair to wonder if he was going to be able to get the train back on the tracks.

The fact that he showed improvement last weekend in a win over the Washington Commanders was notable. The fact that he followed it up with an even better showing this weekend in a win over the Cowboys was proof of progress.

Maybe the most impressive part of McCarthy’s outing was how he responded after throwing an interception on his first pass of the game.

The ability to bounce back in the immediate aftermath is a microcosm of the mental toughness McCarthy has displayed amid his recent turnaround. It’s also a reason to believe he could be the face of the franchise the Vikings so desperately want him to be.

After receiving the opening kickoff, the Vikings ran the ball once, then opted to have McCarthy let it rip. With star receiver Justin Jefferson open near the sticks for what would’ve been a first down, McCarthy’s pass got tipped near the line of scrimmage, then intercepted by defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.

It looked like the Cowboys had stalled out on the ensuing possession until they dialed up a fake field goal, with holder Bryan Anger blindly flipping a ball over his shoulder to kicker Brandon Aubrey, who picked up the first down with his legs.

That earned the Cowboys a new set of downs and paved the way for running back Javonte Williams to plunge into the end zone to make it 7-0.

You couldn’t have scripted a worse start for the Vikings and it looked like the game might get out of hand after they stalled out on the next drive.

The tide turned when punter Ryan Wright flipped the field on special teams, paving the way for the defense to force a punt before the offense finally got itself going with a couple of chunk plays.

The drive ended with McCarty rolling to his left and delivering a strike to Jalen Nailor to help the Vikings pull even at 7-7.

On the heels of the Cowboys getting a touchdown from running back Malik Davis to make it 14-7, the Vikings then showed the type of response that they have lacked for much of this season.

It started with McCarthy finding Jordan Addison over the top for a 58-yard gain. It continued when McCarthy fooled everybody, kept the ball on a naked bootleg and showboated into the end zone to tie the game at 14-14.

After both teams traded field goal, the Vikings and the Cowboys went into halftime tied 17-17.

Though the Vikings struggled to move the ball coming out of the locker room, the Cowboys couldn’t find the end zone themselves, settling for a couple of field goals to make it 23-17.

That left the door open for McCarthy, and he finally led a sustained drive to put the Vikings in front. He rode the roller coaster along the way with a mixture of perfectly placed passes and bafflingly errant misses.

There was a particular stretch in which McCarthy missed Jefferson running wide open over the middle, then followed it up by dropping a dime to Nailor. It culminated with fullback C.J. Ham finding pay dirt to put the Vikings in front 24-23.

After a missed field goal by the Cowboys on the other end, the Vikings made a statement, taking complete control when McCarthy found Nailor for another touchdown to stretch the lead to 31-23.

In the final minutes of the game, Will Reichard nailed a clutch field goal to put the Vikings in front 34-23.

A desperation field goal from the Cowboys finalized the score at 34-26. After the Vikings recovered the onside kick, McCarthy trotted back onto the field, and rightfully got to take a knee and run out the clock.

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