The first two don't bother me, but the last one bothers me on many levels....

They were getting a big win regardless. They put three TDs and a couple FGs on a team that only managed one of the latter; adding another TD didn't turn a tight game into a blowout (the third TD did that. )

That's actually a pretty good point, but I don't think it's enough by itself. For one thing, it ignores the fact that the TD pass is about the last possibility the D is going to play for short of a punt; you can't really say they finally overcame that stiff Cowboys D in the red zone because they weren't really playing it anymore. They did something so outlandish Childress would never consider it for a moment in any game they still thought they could lose, and a play you only call when the game is won, by definition, isn't going to help them win games later. They might face 4th and 3 at the NO 11 down by 4 late next weekend, but if they do you can bet your sweet bippy the Saints will be looking for the pass, just as certainly as the Cowboys WEREN'T last weekend.

Which really just boils down to who started it, because then it's a case of "Dallas treated them disrespectfully and Minnesota returned the favor. " I got no sleep that day, but I did try about 11AM, so out of it I somehow had Central Time an hour AHEAD of Eastern rather than behind, so I didn't see that, and I can only comment on what I saw.

And this game did zilch to mitigate any of that. Next time Dallas has 4th down in the red zone against a badly beaten Vikings playoff team, what do you think is going to happen...?

There I'll have to take your word; when I was in HS the team never needed a 5'9" 130 lbs... well, anything. I like to think I have pretty good hands, but I've always been too slow to play WR and too small to play TE (in a pickup game I can get in the way and provide a second or two, but any trained athlete is just going to run me over. ) It always seemed to me that if the game is OVER the best thing for both teams is to get the hell off the field before someone breaks a leg, but I've always had the view from the stands.

As long as no one gets hurt.

Well, I can hardly dispute the validity of your feelings as your feelings, but as much as I love football, if I'd been on that Cumberland team that got beat 222-0 I think I'd look for a new way to spend my free time (but then, the team had been disbanded the previous year and the only reason the game was played was because Heisman was mad and refused to let them out of the contract to play the game without assessing a very expensive default penalty. ) Reasonable men can differ, and it does seem I'm in the clear minority here.