Viking defense does it: On to the NFC championship

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The Minnesota Viking defense stepped up big time Sunday, holding the Dallas Cowboys to just three points in a 34-3 victory, sending the Vikings to the NFC championship in New Orleans next week, Sunday at 5 p.m.

Despite being injured in the second half, Ray Edwards had five solo tackles, three sacks on Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and four tackles for loss, leading an offense that tallied six sacks overall. Chad Greenway, Jared Allen and Jimmy Kennedy each had one. Ben Leber added an interception.

The game saw the Vikings set a new post-season record as Sidney Rice scored three touchdowns in the game as he made six catches for 141 yards. The previous record was two touchdowns by a receiver.

Visanthe Shianco scored the final touchdown with two minutes to go in the game.

Ryan Longwell had a pair of field goals as well as three extra points to add to Minnesota's total.

The win was also quarterback Brett Favre's first playoff victory over the Cowboys. He threw four touchdown passes and totaled 234 yards passing on 15 of 24 pass attempts with no interceptions. The team rushed for 109 more, led by Adrian Peterson with 63.

Minnesota's defense held the Cowboys to 248 yards total offense, 156 through the air and 92 on the ground.

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