By Mark Halpern
I have been a Dallas Cowboys fan for 39 years now (Thank you, I apricate the condolences), and I have seen it all from down in the dumps to being the world’s champs. Dallas fans not only want to win it all but also want consistency in our team, and the backup quarterbacks we had for our $40 million star Dak Prescott just don’t thrill you. When you hear the name Cooper Rush as your back up QB you head sinks in to your hands.; However, Cooper Rush isn’t rushing to any conclusion that he is the prime number 1 Quarter Back in Dallas behind Dak Prescott. He knows that when Dak returns, he will return to the bench, but the way Rush has been playing, he knows he will start until Dak returns from the broken bone in his throwing hand heals. His play over the first 3 weeks has been solid as the head QB.
Over the last few years, we have had some changes in and around the backup quarterback position, from Andy Dalton to the horrible Ryan Leaf. It’s a position that comes with a ton of responsibility, but you won’t hear the good things you do unless you are error free and you win the game. Only the poor play that you had will be brought up. Dak has been the sole #1 Quarter Back in Dallas since 2016, and though we have had teams that should have gone onto the Super Bowl, we as a Cowboys Nation have gone home like the New York Yankees to watch other teams win the Championship. Dak broke a bone in his throwing hand on a pass attempt against Tampa Bay. Rush couldn’t help the Cowboys do much when he came in the fourth quarter, and we were down by three scores with eight minutes left. Dallas dropped the opener 19-3, but over the last two games, Rush has gotten the job done against the Cincinnati Bengals by going 19-31 235 and a touchdown. The big key is no interceptions on the day. The Bengals have a good defense (It took them to the Super Bowl last year), and they played well but not well enough to beat the Dallas Defense as the Cowboys went on to win 20-17. With the high expectations for the Bengals this year, this win by the Cowboys with no Dak as Field General surprised us all. Cooper was very efficient in moving the ball around to all players. Even with Cee Dee Lamb in the one spot, Noah Brown has become Rush’s favorite target over these past two games. The Cowboys left and were headed to take on the 2-0 New York Giants.
Anytime the Cowboys play the Giants, the game is usually a nail-biter as both teams usually come and get ready to play their best and own bragging rights for another year. The Giants are last year’s version of the Panthers and needed the Cowboys to take them down a step and get their first loss like the 3-0 panthers did to the 2-1 Cowboys last year at this time. The Giants looked horrible on all fronts except for Saquon Barkley, who is back to his rookie year form and is leading the league in rushing. Rush knew the meaning of this game and came out in prime QB1 form. Rush threw for 215 yards on 31 passes on 19 completions and one touchdown. The key in Rush’s stats is that he didn’t throw an interception or create a turnover in this game. Rush had help on all fronts, though; while the Giant’s offensive line seemed to leak like a sieve and gave Quarterback Daniel Jones no time to throw, the Cowboy’s offensive line created a ton of holes, giving Zeke Elliot and Tony Pollard more room to run. So all facets of the Cowboys team played a crucial key in the team’s last two wins.
As I said earlier, Rush doesn’t need to rush anything as he has stuck his claim as the team’s backup QB, and with Dak’s injury problems, it isn’t such a bad spot to be in. Rush looks comfy out there and is taking his time and being a Great Field General; that is how the old man sees it.
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