Rush became the third quarterback in Cowboys history to win his first three starts, joining the legendary Roger Staubach (1969-1970) and former Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett (1993-1998). Both were game-time decisions Monday night. In the last two weeks, Rush’s 40 completions have gone to a variety of pass catchers, including CeeDee Lamb 15, Noah Brown 10, Tony Pollard 4, Peyton Hendershot 3, Ezekiel Elliott 2, Jake Ferguson 2, Dalton Schultz 2, Simi Fehoko 1, Jalen Tolbert 1.Īnd there’s a good chance he’ll get starting wide receiver Michael Gallup and starting tight end Schultz back from knee injuries this week. The other helps one of the league’s top defensive units hold three opponents to a total of only three touchdowns.Ĭooper Rush is 3-0 as a starter while stepping in for Dak Prescott. One helps an offensive line group that has had several moving pieces. Two of Rush’s greatest strengths have been not turning the ball over and getting rid of the ball quickly. I think you see him have more and more confidence with every opportunity he has. His ability to throw it early, get the ball out and anticipate. “We talk about his intelligence, he is very, very high in instinct and awareness,” McCarthy said. On those three possessions, Rush was 12 of 14 for 129 yards, a touchdown and a 128.9 passer rating. Dallas’ next three drives resulted in two touchdowns and a field goal. On Monday night against the Giants, Rush seemed to be at his best after New York took a 13-6 lead. Rush was then 3 for 3 passing for 30 yards as he helped set up Brett Maher’s 50-yard game-winning field goal over the Bengals. In the fourth quarters of his three starts, Rush has completed 23 of 34 passes for 249 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 108.6 passer rating.ĭuring the game-winning drive last year against the Vikings, Rush was 6 of 8 passing for 75 yards, including the back-of-the-end zone throw to Amari Cooper with less than a minute to play. The most impressive aspect has been how Rush has played in big moments. You’re seeing a lot of that in Coop right now.” I think any time you see a QB take his drop, hit his back foot, see it, trust it and let it rip, that’s confidence right there. “He does a really good job of playing the game,” Moore said, “playing each situation, handling the highs and lows, he does a tremendous job of that throughout the games. But after these past two games, it’s highly unlikely Rush will find himself in that same situation in the future. He had a say in the matter and wanted to stay in Dallas and remain Prescott’s backup. Now, that’s because Rush is a veteran who couldn’t simply be claimed by another team. He wasn’t even on the Cowboys’ final 53-man roster earlier this month. He’s a career backup who attempted only three passes before last season. Rush was undrafted coming out of Central Michigan in 2017. It’s an impressive accomplishment considering that Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow was the first overall pick in 2020, New York’s Daniel Jones was the sixth overall pick in 2019, and Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins, who has made three Pro Bowls, was a fourth-round pick in 2012. But in all three, he outperformed the opposing quarterbacks. The Cowboys didn’t win all three because Rush put up huge passing numbers. Virgil Carter, in 1968 with the Chicago Bears, is the only other quarterback in NFL history with a game-winning drive in each of his first three starts. All three saw Rush lead game-winning drives. His third was Monday night at the New York Giants. His next start wouldn’t come until two weeks ago against the defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals. That was Rush’s first win in his first start, filling in for an injured Dak Prescott.
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