ARLINGTON, Texas — Cooper Rush is simply not one to level out his feelings a lot publicly, and he wasn’t about to interrupt character after Sunday’s 20-17 win in opposition to the Cincinnati Bengals through which the Dallas Cowboys quarterback led a remaining-minute drive that resulted in a recreation-worthwhile 50-yard discipline objective.
“worthwhile an NFL recreation is an environment nice deal of satisfying,” Rush mentioned.
Making simply his second profession start, Rush accomplished 19 of 31 passes for 235 yards and a fundamental-quarter touchdown cross to Noah Brown whereas filling in for an injured Dak Prescott, who had proper thumb surgical procedure the day after the season-opening loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
final October, with Prescott sidelined as a outcomes of a calf stress, Rush accomplished 25 of forty passes for 325 yards with two touchdown passes, collectively with the sport winner to Amari Cooper with fifty one seconds to play to beat the Minnesota Vikings, 20-sixteen.
“you simply want to do your job, notion your teammates,” Rush mentioned.
primarily based on ESPN Stats & information evaluation, Rush grew to become the fifth quarterback since 1966 to steer a recreation-worthwhile drive inside the fourth quarter or further time of his first two profession begins. The others? Houston’s T.J. Yates (2011), Seattle’s Jon Kitna (2007-08), Minnesota’s Wade Wilson (1983-eighty 4) and Chicago’s Virgil Carter (1968).
final 12 months, the Cowboys had been 5-1 when Rush made his first start. This 12 months, the loss to the Buccaneers was stinging, particularly for an offense that did not get contained in the Tampa Bay 30. It was made worse when it was revealed Prescott suffered a fractured thumb that will knock him out for a quantity of weeks.
Even proprietor and frequent supervisor Jerry Jones knew how huge Sunday’s win was, for the Cowboys and Rush.
“anyone is aware of how disappointing our first loss was final week,” Jones mentioned. “We might level to the the set off why however that is not enough. however to get back out right here with our identical house crowd and beat a very great youthful quarterback and beat a staff that was having fun with inside the great Bowl solely a quantity of months in the past, that is an monumental tonic for the frustration we had. and all people is aware of how extremely effective these video games are that now we have gotten arising, however the fundamental factor is kudos to Cooper Rush. That reveals me pretty a bit about him and the precept of he stored a workmanlike basis. he is accomplished that. he is gotten greater. He is aware of this offense as properly as to anyone respiration and he stepped on the market and did some good execution.”
After directing touchdown drives on the Dallas’ first two possessions and accumulating one hundred fifty yards on offense, the push-led offense had simply 159 yards on the following seven drives, however with fifty seven seconds left in regulation and the rating tied, the Cowboys answered.
Rush does not preserve in thoughts something particularly that he mentioned earlier than the remaining drive.
“It was most seemingly, ‘Let’s go. right here we go. as a end result of of this we do it. that is our time,'” Rush mentioned. “these guys, it is a satisfying group, a very good group, tons of leaders everywhere. Not all people should get hyped up. They know their jobs. They know what to do, and also you simply go play ball.”
the one cross try Rush did not full on the remaining drive was a spike to kill the clock with three seconds remaining. He opened the drive with an eight-yard completion to CeeDee Lamb, which was adopted by Brown’s diving 12-yard catch off a tipped cross. Lamb caught a ten-yarder to get the Cowboys to the Cincinnati 32.
After a three-yard run by Tony Pollard, the clock ticked down, but not like inside the wild-card loss to the San Francisco 49ers final January, the Cowboys had been in a place to align themselves in time for Rush’s spike, and Brett Maher gained the sport with a 50-yard discipline objective as time expired.
“That was an monumental one for us,” Rush mentioned. “you needn’t fall down zero-2. want that first win. protection clearly stored us in it tonight and Brett on the tip doing his job.”
And Rush did his, although Jones mentioned a loss wouldn’t have altered the Cowboys’ plan for Prescott’s return.
“When [Prescott] has power, which i do not know when that will most seemingly be, however it certainly would seemingly be not an situation of worrying about reinjuring the thumb,” Jones mentioned. “it would seemingly be an situation of his potential to grip the ball, and also you already know Dak, he is beat every timeline I’ve ever seen or checked out. So he is acquired a very good likelihood to do it, however there is not any question that we did not put him on IR. i would like to be exact clear about that — we did not put him on [IR], so he might probably be working all through these weeks. He might probably be on the market, throwing, [and] definitely involved in the whole lot else. He might not have accomplished that had we put him there. I definitely would look to hope that he simply might even be accessible, however i am telling you, this efficiency out right here at the second by Rush constructive takes a very important deal of the angst out of that.”
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