Dak Prescott and Cowboys watch playoff hopes all but vanish in 34-26 loss to Vikings

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The last time Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys were on their home field, they had finished a two-game sweep of last season's Super Bowl teams to spark talk of a rally to a playoff spot.

This time, they watched those postseason hopes all but vanish.

J.J. McCarthy threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score, C.J. Ham had the go-ahead TD on his first carry of the season and the Minnesota Vikings put Dallas on the brink of elimination with a 34-26 victory over the Cowboys on Sunday night.

The Vikings (6-8) won a second consecutive game after they were eliminated from the postseason race before the kickoff. Minnesota was a 14-win playoff qualifier a year ago.

The Cowboys (6-7-1) have to win their three remaining games and hope defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia goes 0-3 in order for Dallas to overtake the Eagles in the NFC East.

It was a second straight loss for Dallas after a three-game winning streak put them over .500 for the only time this season, capped with victories four days apart at AT&T Stadium over the Kansas City Chiefs and the Eagles.

“Definitely surprised, especially (to) get rolling like we did for those few weeks, then watch the confidence just skyrocket,” Prescott said. “Stopping teams, scoring at will, coming back from 21 points (down), a lot of good wins there that, to be in this position just reminds you every play matters. It's a hard game.”

Both of McCarthy's TD tosses were to Jalen Nailor, and the quarterback danced star receiver Justin Jefferson's “Griddy” across the goal line when a nifty bootleg left him all alone on fourth-and-goal at the 1.

Ham's 1-yard plunge put Minnesota ahead 24-23 late in the third quarter, and Nailor's second touchdown grab pushed the lead to eight early in the fourth as the Vikings became the spoiler just a few hours after their day was spoiled.

“It’s just a thing to keep building on the rest of the way and leading into next year,” Nailor said. “We just have a one-game mindset no matter what our record is.”

Brandon Aubrey kicked four field goals and had a 6-yard run for a first down on a fake to keep alive the drive to Dallas' first touchdown, but he missed multiple field goals at home for the first time in his three seasons.

Aubrey was wide right from 51 and 59 yards, the latter setting up a short field for a drive that ended in Nailor's 4-yard catch for a 31-23 lead early in the fourth quarter.

The Vikings forced a turnover on downs when Malik Davis' catch was originally ruled a first down on fourth-and-7, but replay assist quickly reversed the call.

Aaron Jones ran 4 yards on fourth-and-1, and Will Reichard kicked a clinching 53-yard field goal with 1:08 remaining after Dallas' unsuccessful challenge that Jones was down before the ball came out on a 16-yard run for another first down.

Aubrey's fourth field goal got Dallas within eight with 19 seconds remaining, but Josh Oliver recovered the onside kick.

McCarthy was 15 of 24 for 250 yards with an interception, a tipped ball that ended up in the arms of defensive tackle Quinnen Williams on his first pass of the game.

While the 2024 first-round pick who won a national championship at Michigan has struggled most of the season, his record as Minnesota's starter improved to 4-4.

“I think just experience, getting to my eighth game and just feeing more and more comfortable in the pocket, seeing the defenses,” McCarthy said. “I’m just another piece of the puzzle.”

Prescott, the NFL leader in yards passing coming in, was 23 of 38 for 294 yards but was held without a touchdown pass for just the third time this season. Javonte Williams and Malik Davis each had a 1-yard TD run for Dallas.

“We never got to the point where I felt like we were able to just kind of seize momentum,” first-year Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “There wasn’t a momentum-changing play in any regard other than probably the interception early in the game.”

Vikings: DL Javon Hargrave exited with a groin injury and was ruled out. ... T Brian O'Neill injured an ankle.

Cowboys: Williams was ruled out in the second half with a concussion. ... LT Nate Thomas, the backup filling in for the inactive Tyler Guyton (ankle), injured a shoulder. ... FB Hunter Luepke was ruled out with a concussion after getting injured covering a kickoff to finish the first half. ... DE Jadeveon Clowney was active after missing one game with a hamstring injury.

Vikings: Road finale at the New York Giants next Sunday.

Cowboys: Regular-season home finale against the Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott speaks to his teammates during the first half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jalen Nailor makes a catch in the end zone for a touchdown as Dallas Cowboys cornerback Daron Bland defends during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Cowboys running back Hunter Luepke, center, is stopped by Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, right, and linebacker Blake Cashman during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) throws a pass under pressure from Minnesota Vikings linebacker Jonathan Greenard, left, and linebacker Eric Wilson during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Minnesota Vikings place kicker Will Reichard (16) celebrates after making a field goal during the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens looks on from the sidelines during the second half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) and wide receiver Jordan Addison celebrate after a touchdown by wide receiver Jalen Nailor during the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

HONG KONG (AP) — Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media mogul and outspoken critic of Beijing, was convicted in a landmark national security trial in the city’s court on Monday, which could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

Three government-vetted judges found Lai, 78, guilty of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Lai, 78, was arrested in August 2020 under a Beijing-imposed national security law that was implemented following massive anti-government protests in 2019. During his five years in custody, much of it in solitary confinement, Lai has been convicted of several lesser offenses and appears to have grown more frail and thinner.

Lai’s trial, conducted without a jury, has been closely monitored by the U.S., Britain, the European Union and political observers as a barometer of media freedom and judicial independence in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Reading from an 855-page verdict, Judge Esther Toh said that Lai had extended a “constant invitation” to the U.S. to help bring down the Chinese government with the excuse of helping Hong Kongers.

Lai’s lawyers admitted during the trial that he had called for sanctions before the law took effect, but insisted he dropped these calls to comply with the law.

But the judges ruled that Lai had never wavered in his intention to destabilize the ruling Chinese Communist Party, “continuing though in a less explicit way."

Toh said the court was satisfied that Lai was the mastermind of the conspiracies and that Lai's evidence was at times contradictory and unreliable. The judges ruled that the only reasonable inference from the evidence was that Lai’s only intent, both before and after the security law, was to seek the downfall of the ruling Communist Party even at the sacrifice of the people of China and Hong Kong.

“This was the ultimate aim of the conspiracies and secessionist publications,” they wrote.

Among the attendees were Lai’s wife and son, and Hong Kong’s Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen. Lai pressed his lips and nodded to his family before being escorted out of the courtroom by guards.

His verdict is also a test for Beijing’s diplomatic ties. U.S. President Donald Trump said he has raised the case with China, and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said his government has made it a priority to secure the release of Lai, who is a British citizen.

The founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily will be sentenced on a later day.

Under the security law, the collusion charge could result in a sentence ranging from three years in jail to life imprisonment, depending on the offense's nature and his role in it. Hearings were set to begin Jan. 12 for Lai and other defendants in the case to argue for a shorter sentence.

The Apple Daily, a vocal critic of the Hong Kong government and Beijing, was forced to shut in 2021 after police raided its newsroom and arrested its senior journalists, with authorities freezing its assets.

During Lai’s 156-day trial, prosecutors accused him of conspiring with senior executives of Apple Daily and others to request foreign forces to impose sanctions or blockades and engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.

The prosecution also accused Lai of making such requests, highlighting his meetings with former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in July 2019 at the height of the protests.

It also presented 161 publications, including Apple Daily articles, to the court as evidence, as well as social media posts and text messages.

Lai testified for 52 days in his own defense, arguing that he had not called for foreign sanctions after the sweeping security law was imposed in June 2020.

His legal team also argued for freedom of expression.

As the trial progressed, Lai’s health appeared to be deteriorating.

Lai’s lawyers in August told the court that he suffered from heart palpitations. After the verdict, lawyer, Robert Pang, said his client is doing okay as the legal team studies the verdict.

Before the verdict, his daughter Claire told The Associated Press that her father has become weaker and lost some of his nails and teeth. She also said he suffered from infections for months, along with constant back pain, diabetes, heart issues and high blood pressure.

“His spirit is strong but his body is failing,” she said.

Hong Kong’s government said no abnormalities were found during a medical examination that followed Lai's complaint of heart problems. It added this month that the medical services provided to him were adequate.

Hong Kong leader John Lee said Lai harmed the fundamental interests of the country, calling his actions shameful and his intentions malicious.

Steve Li, chief superintendent of Hong Kong police’s National Security Department, welcomed the guilty verdict and disputed claims of Lai's worsening health.

“Lai’s conviction is justice served,” he told reporters.

Before sunrise, dozens of residents queued outside the court building to secure a courtroom seat.

Former Apple Daily employee Tammy Cheung arrived at 5 a.m., saying she wanted to know about Lai's condition after reports of his health.

She said she felt the process was being rushed since the verdict date was announced only last Friday, but added, “I’m relieved that this case can at least conclude soon.”

Rights groups, including global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International, criticized the verdict.

“It is not an individual who has been on trial — it is press freedom itself, and with this verdict that has been shattered,” said Reporters Without Borders' director general Thibaut Bruttin.

Originally scheduled to start in December 2022, Lai’s trial was postponed to 2023 as authorities blocked a British lawyer from representing him, citing national security risks.

In 2022, Lai was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison over separate fraud charges involving lease violations, in addition to other cases related to the 2019 protests.

Associated Press writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

People wait to enter the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts ahead of the verdict for Hong Kong activist publisher Jimmy Lai's national security trial, in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

People wait to enter the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts ahead of the verdict for Hong Kong activist publisher Jimmy Lai's national security trial, in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

People wait to enter the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts ahead of the verdict for Hong Kong activist publisher Jimmy Lai's national security trial, in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

People wait to enter the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts ahead of the verdict for Hong Kong activist publisher Jimmy Lai's national security trial, in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)