The Dallas Cowboys might not have a legitimate quarterback controversy yet, but they have to be impressed with Cooper Rush’s performance in place of the injured Dak Prescott.
Rush is now 3-0 as a starter in his career following Monday’s 23-16 win over the previously undefeated New York Giants. The 28-year-old completed 21 of his 31 passing attempts for 215 yards and a touchdown and led the Cowboys’ game-winning drive in the fourth quarter.
Rush joins Hall of Famer Roger Staubach and Jason Garrett as the only Cowboys starting QBs to win their first three career starts. He’s the first undrafted quarterback to win each of his first three starts and throw for 750-plus passing yards in those starts since Hall of Famer Kurt Warner with the Rams in 1999, per NFL Research.
Rush has also become the second quarterback in the Super Bowl era to lead a fourth-quarter or overtime game-winning drive in each of his first three starts. Additionally, he is the first quarterback since at least 1950 to win his first three career starts while having a 60-plus completion percentage, 200-plus pass yards, and 90-plus passer rating in each start.
Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones effusively praised Rush’s performance during an appearance on Shan and RJ on 105.3 The Fan.
“Let me say this, he’s certainly playing as well as anybody could have expected,” Jones said Tuesday. “He understands this offense, he has got the makeup for a top quarterback – and I underline the word ‘makeup’ for a top quarterback – and we’re very fortunate.”
Rush has spent nearly his entire career with the Cowboys, so he knows the offensive system as well as anyone.
“In this particular case, you’ve got somebody who knows this thing inside and out and he knows how to execute it, and we’re seeing that he’ll do that under pressure,” Jones said. “He’ll do that when the chips are down, he’ll do that when the play isn’t exactly happening the way it’s designed to be, he’s doing that – all of those things you see in Cooper Rush right now. So, he’s doing a great job, and I know that he doesn’t have anybody supporting him any more than Dak.”
After the win over the Giants, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy took his turn to shower Rush with praise.
“Well, he doesn’t get rattled,” McCarthy said of the quarterback. “… He’s the same, every day. So consistent. But yeah, he’s playing good football right now. I’m glad to recognize him for it. He’s giving us the boost to just keep playing on offense.”
Dallas fans felt their season was doomed when Prescott went down with a hand injury in Week 1. Instead, Rush and the rest of the team have risen to the occasion with back-to-back victories.
“It tells you the kind of team you have,” McCarthy said. “These guys have been leaning on one another. This is an outstanding locker room. The accountability is very high. The resilience is there, you can see it every step of the way. It’s just like anything, sometimes you have to go through some hard times to get to where you want to go, and hopefully we’ve built a good foundation to get to where we want to go.”
The consensus remains that Prescott will retake the starting role when he is healthy. However, last week, Jones commented that he would welcome a quarterback controversy because it would mean Rush played well enough to make it a legitimate consideration.
Rush might not be performing so well on the field that Prescott needs to worry about his job, but he’s certainly proved to be a stabilizing force who can run the offense efficiently.
