The rundown: Dantzler's maturation, O'Neill on the state of the OL and Zimmer has some stats

Plus, the latest from Dallas on Dak Prescott's calf injury

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By Sam Ekstrom

EAGAN/ZOOM — The Vikings are back from the bye week and head into Week 8 as the current No. 7 seed if the NFC.

The fact that Minnesota is a playoff team is fairly remarkable after the team’s 1-3 start, but they’ve built their .500 record around wins against uninspiring foes Seattle (2-4), Detroit (0-7) and Carolina (3-4). Any win in their next four games would be a signature victory, however, beginning this Sunday against the 5-1 Dallas Cowboys. That matchup is the only thing the Vikings claim to be focused on with a looming stretch of four straight games against teams that are currently 4-2 or better.

We kick off Cowboys Week with a rundown as the Vikings report back from their bye.

Filling in for Patrick Peterson

Not only is it a critical stretch for the Vikings but a critical stretch for Cameron Dantzler. The second-year corner has been through the ringer this season after getting replaced by Bashuad Breeland, scratched outright in Week 1, criticized for his inability to play special teams and sidelined with a bout of COVID-19 just as his season appeared to be turning around.

Now, with Patrick Peterson on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, Dantzler will get the green light as a likely starter until Peterson returns. Dantzler hasn’t started a game yet this season, but he played extended snaps in Week 4 after Breeland’s illness and was Minnesota’s highest graded corner that week, per Pro Football Focus.

If Dantzler has truly made progress from an up-and-down rookie season, then we’ll find out shortly in matchups against Dak Prescott, Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert.

“I just feel like my rookie year the game was kind of fast to me,” Dantzler said. “Probably after [the bye week] it kind of slowed down a little bit and I started getting more relaxed and more confident. And with this year, I just feel like I’m more confident in my game and I’m more relaxed out there on the field. Things slowed down for me a little bit. I just feel like I go out there now more confident than I was at the beginning of last year.”

Dantzler claims he’s more focused now after Mike Zimmer sent him a apparent message with a Week 1 benching. It’s going to take a lot more of that focus and plenty of skill for Dantzler to deliver on Sunday against some combination of Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb. Cooper has a 130.4 passer rating when targeted, while Lamb has posted a 115.3, per Pro Football Focus.

Peterson played exclusively on the right side of the field through the first six weeks, but it’s yet to be determined how the Vikings will handle matchups against Dallas’s duo.