Yes, yes, I'm a Vikings fan, but that isn't what is coloring my opinion here. This is playoff football. You either play hard the whole game or you shouldn't be there. More specifically:

1. Winning in the playoffs is as much about confidence as skill, as all the teams there are more or less very skilled. A big win before kicking off on the road, a place where the Vikings haven't been good recently, will help get confidence as high as possible.

2. The Vikings had difficulty scoring in the red zone against a very good Cowboys red zone defense. The final touchdown not only got the ball into Shaincoe's, a very important part of the offense, hands for the first time during the game, but gave the Vikings some success on a short field.

3. The Cowboys spent a large portion of pre-game flexing their muscles, pointing at the stars on their helmets, and generally taunting the fans. The Vikings answered on the field.

4. This was an old, classic playoff rivalry, with bad blood, and the occasional lop-sided blowout in the past.

5. Playing out the clock leaves a bad taste in an offenses mouth. You always want to close out a game strong.

Playing in the playoffs is about two things. Winning the game that you are playing, and setting yourself up with the best chance to win the next game. Health, confidence, momentum. The Vikings are going on the road to play against an explosive team, the number 1 team in the NFC. They did what they needed to do to set up the team in the best position as possible.

Besides, having played football, and many other sports, nothing is as humiliating as the other team sitting back to take it 'easy' on you. I'd much rather the other team have enough respect for me and the sport to keep giving it their all.