Cooper Rush quells concerns with commanding opening drive TD vs Bengals
There was a lot of fear, worry, and hopelessness heading into Week 2 after the Dallas Cowboys’ dismal performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1.
Dallas was the only team in the NFL not to score a touchdown in Week 1, and fans were worried that with the losses of Jayron Kearse, Connor McGovern, and of course, QB1 Dak Prescott, things would only get worse.
With the Cincinnati Bengals winning the toss, backup QB Cooper Rush was given a chance to prove the doubters wrong early. Fans held their breath as the six-year backup and the rest of the Cowboys’ offense took the field.
What happened after that looked much different than anything we saw last week.
Rush led this team down the field with efficiency and ease. He had a lot of help from running backs Tony Pollard (finally) and Ezekiel Elliott but was also able to get passes to Dalton Schultz and CeeDee Lamb.
The Cowboys have only had one opening-drive touchdown in their last nine home games, but Rush was there to change that. Dallas didn’t get inside Tampa Bay’s 30-yard line last week, but here they were, finally in the red zone.
On 2nd and 7 from the Bengals’ 9-yard line, Rush escaped pressure and threw up a pass on the run and Noah Brown made an acrobatic catch in the end zone. The Cowboys were on the board in commanding fashion. Not only did they not score last week, but the ‘Boys could barely get first downs. This was a completely different team than seven days ago.
Cooper Rush finds Cowboys WR Noah Brown for the diving 9-yard TD
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) September 18, 2022
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/jdTW9Nu8mu
Backup QB Cooper Rush leads the Cowboys to a touchdown on a commanding opening drive vs. the Bengals
The Cowboys’ first touchdown of the season was Rush’s first of the year and Brown’s first of his career.
This is a huge sigh of relief for Cowboys Nation, and hopefully, gives Rush more confidence moving forward in this contest while Prescott is out.
Oh, and by the way, Romo may have called it again.
Tony Romo just now on Cowboys-Bengals CBS broadcast: "I think the Cowboys have a great chance to pull an upset. ... Cooper Rush, he's a gunslinger."
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) September 18, 2022
Maybe Skip Bayless was right? This was an impressive opening from Rush and the offense.
