The Dallas Cowboys have trusted Cooper Rush as their backup quarterback for four seasons. That faith has never been tested until tonight, and Rush passed with a 20-16 road win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Dak Prescott sat out with ongoing soreness in his calf, a lingering injury from the final play two weeks again against the Patriots. All signs point to Dak being good enough to play in a crucial game, so the Cowboys clearly were willing to risk this one by going with QB2.
Rush was far from perfect; this one would’ve been a blowout with Prescott under center. But after a shaky first half, Cooper was much sharper in the second and finished with 325 yards and two touchdowns.
His last play was his best; a perfectly-placed fade to Amari Cooper in the back of the endzone for the game-winning touchdown. That was the cap for a big night from Amari as well with 122 yards on eight catches. CeeDee Lamb wasn’t far behind with six catches for 112 yards.
While Ezekiel Elliott only had 50 rushing yards on 16 carries, his last touch was a crucial play as he helped set up the final TD with a 15-yard reception and strong RAC on 3rd-and-11. Zeke broke multiple tackles to move the chains and keep the drive alive.
But despite those heroics on offense, no single player tonight was more impressive than rookie LB Micah Parsons. The 11 tackles, four for losses, and some pass breakups were enough to be proud of, but Parsons made some of these plays in key moments to stop drives and led a strong overall defensive effort.
Dallas held Minnesota to just 278 total offensive yards. They only surrendered two field goals in the second half, keeping the score manageable enough for Rush and the offense to catch up once they found their rhythm.
Randy Gregory had a sack, his fifth on the year, and Anthony Brown showed up with some big stops. Unfortunately, Trevon Diggs’ INT streak finally ended.
The Cowboys are now 6-1 and in a soft spot of their schedule with the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons up next. Dak Prescott should be good to go next week, but we’ll see if this win and Cooper Rush’s performance push Dallas to keep playing it safe.
Rush surprised the heck out of me. Kudos to him. He did have a “shaky first half”, as could have had a couple more INTs. But came through in the end. Give credit to the defense that really tightened up their play.
I’ll have to give credit where credit is due CR hung in there and got the W. To be honest every time he stepped back to throw I held my breath! Still not sold on him as our backup hope he proves me wrong every time he plays! EE stepped up big on the third down and carried the two guys for the first down. AC is a stud if he ever gets healthy watch out!! Not going to say anything about CW making plays all over the field because some people believe that he shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same Conversation as our other wide receivers!! Ha . Defense stepped up when they needed too! Go Cowboys
Really solid game by C Rush. Started off shaky abut bounced back in the 2nd half. Great team win and maybe the best game by the defense all year. M Parsons was a beast and Randy G continues to build on his great season. Not to get ahead of ourselves, but this team just has a different feel this year.
I am glad Coop finally got a chance to show what he can do on the big stage. I have liked what I have seen from him in pre-season duty and felt good about him going into this game. Dak not being in there is obviously not ideal, but getting some game time for the back up is not a bad thing either. This will only give him and the team confidence the next time he is called upon.