The Dallas Cowboys can breathe a sigh of relief after backup quarterback Cooper Rush managed to handle the offense in place of injured starter Dak Prescott and guide the team to a 20-17 triumph over the visiting Cincinnati Bengals.
Rush didn’t put up stellar numbers in the game, but he did just enough to put the Cowboys in position to win the game on a 50-yard field goal by placekicker Brett Maher, who was also good from 54 yards earlier in the game.
Maher joined the Cowboys in training camp after the team released former kicker Greg Zuerlein. Maher beat out two other kickers to earn the top spot and a return to the Cowboys after having been the starting kicker in 2018 and 2019.
Wide receiver Noah Brown emerged as a key partner with Rush, a development that shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Brown and Rush have been with the Cowboys since 2017 and have spent a significant amount of time in practice working together. Brown has typically been used as a special team’s player in his years with Dallas and is often the fifth or sixth option on the receiver’s depth chart.
Brown caught his first career touchdown on a 9-yard pass on the Cowboys’ opening drive. The score was set up by chunk yardage on the ground and a 17-yard completion to Brown, who finished the day with 91 yards on five receptions.
The Dallas run game finally emerged against Cincinnati after lying dormant for most of last season and a slow showing on opening night. Ezekiel Elliott bore the brunt of the action and compiled 53 yards on 15 carries but still has yet to score a touchdown in 2022.
Tony Pollard entered the 2022 season as a much-hyped option in the pass-and-run game. He caught four passes for 55 yards and added 43 yards on the ground. Pollard’s first-quarter reception for 46 yards was a combination of excellent play-calling from offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and Pollard’s ability to make defenders miss. He finished the drive on the next play with a 1-yard score that put the Cowboys up 14-3.
The Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive line knew they would be in for a long day as they faced Micah Parsons, Dorance Armstrong, and the rest of the Cowboys’ defense. Parsons recorded two sacks for the second week in a row. After saying that 20 sacks this season was his goal, Parsons is on pace for more than 30 sacks early in the season.
Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs was an interception machine last season as he matched franchise records and earned a spot on the Pro Bowl team. Diggs has yet to record an interception in 2022, but that hasn’t stopped him from being a force on defense. Diggs had one pass defended and made a critical third-down tackle on the Bengals’ first drive after Cincinnati tied the game at 17.
Rush is now 2-0 as a starter for the Cowboys. He will be asked to make another heroic effort on September 25 when the Cowboys travel to New York for the first divisional game of the season.
The Giants come into the game on a two-game winning streak fueled by new head coach Brian Daboll and a revitalized offense. The Cowboys will need to see even more consistency from Rush and a continued menace from the defense to fend off New York and earn the first divisional win of the 2022 season.
