MINNEAPOLIS -- Sean Lee's voice was scratchy from a cold he picked up a couple of days ago, but he sounded worse than he felt.

On Thursday, the Dallas Cowboys won their third game in 12 days, beating the Minnesota Vikings 17-15.

“We found ways to win tough games against good football teams,” Lee said. “That’s, I think, a sign of what our team has been all year.”

On Nov. 20, they beat the Baltimore Ravens 27-17, dominating the time of possession and Dez Bryant grabbing two touchdown passes. Four days later, they beat the Washington Redskins 31-26, despite their defense giving up more than 500 yards.

On Thursday against the Vikings, the offense had its roughest outing of 2016, with season lows in points, yards (264) and first downs (13), but the defense had timely stops and the special teams came up with the most important play of the game: a Kyle Wilber forced fumble and recovery on Adam Thielen in the fourth quarter.

Benson Mayowa (93), Maliek Collins (96) and the Cowboys defense made life miserable for Vikings QB Sam Bradford on Thursday night. Brace Hemmelgarn/USA TODAY Sports

One play later, Bryant had an 8-yard touchdown to give the Cowboys a 14-9 lead with 10 minutes, 22 seconds to play.

“This team is not just one unit,” Wilber said. “It’s all three of our units fighting for each other. If the offense lags, the defense has to pick it up. If the defense lags, special teams has to pick it up. It’s the epitome of a team win.”

It’s what will make the Cowboys a tough out the rest of the way.

“I like to use the word ‘fight’ as much as ‘resilience,’” coach Jason Garrett said. “We just kept battling. We kept fighting. And individually guys came back, the units came back to overcome different things. As a team we kept picking each other up. Scratch and claw and fight, it’s the foundation of what we try and do each and every day with the Cowboys.”

Mostly this season the Cowboys have won with their offense. But Thursday they struggled. Ezekiel Elliott finished with 86 yards on 20 carries and had a 42-yard run wiped out by a penalty, but his runs were hard. Bryant had his fourth touchdown in the past five games and had a 56-yard catch, but the Cowboys could not sustain their work for long stretches.

That they won without their offense starring shows they have a variety of ways to win games.

Before Thursday, the fewest yards they had in a game were 328 in the season-opening loss to the New York Giants. Before Thursday, the fewest points were 19 against the Giants. Before Thursday, the fewest first downs were 21 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Before Thursday, the worst third-down production was a 3-for-11 showing against the Green Bay Packers.

Penalties took away big plays at big times.

While the defense did not record a takeaway, it was able to record three sacks and hit Minnesota quarterbacks Sam Bradford and Shaun Hill nine more times. The Cowboys made the Vikings work for their yards and then were able to withstand a possible two-point play that would have tied the game with 25 seconds to go.

Teams are now 0-for-6 against the Cowboys on two-point plays on the season.

“It comes down to the fight part of it,” cornerback Brandon Carr said. “It’s two points and the game is on the line. We all stand up and don’t want the ball caught up on us.”

The Cowboys are off until Monday, a well-deserved break. By the time they report back to work, they could have a playoff spot clinched if the Redskins or Tampa Bay Buccaneers lose Sunday, but at different corners of the locker room Thursday they talked about bigger things to come.

If their seasons ends with a Super Bowl, they can look at this 12-day stretch as a defining period.

“I think the way we won all three of them, they were different games and that’s hard to do,” tight end Jason Witten said. “I think that’s the thing that says the most about our team. Just the ability to lock in to that game and out it behind you and move forward. Now we can take a deep breath a little bit. Not relax. We understand there’s more down the stretch. These next four will be big games.”