After suffering an ACL injury at the end of the 2021 regular season, newly-extended Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup finally made his 2022 debut against the Washington Commanders in Week 4.
The Cowboys’ offense struggled for a good amount of the first half. At the two-minute warning, Brett Maher was the only person to put points on the board for the ‘ Boys with two field goals (making him 8 for 9 on the season), but a Jahan Dotson touchdown had Dallas down 7-6.
The Cowboys’ first red-zone chance didn’t come until late in the half, thanks to a big catch from Noah Brown and some strong rushing from Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard.
With just over a minute to go, backup Cooper Rush was able to put the ball back in the man’s hands who hadn’t seen the field in almost nine months. On 3rd and six from the nine-yard line, Rush rolled out and found Gallup in the back of the end zone for his first touchdown since the last one he scored against the Arizona Cardinals that resulted in his torn ACL.
Michael Gallup wastes no time. First game back, 9-yard touchdown lifts Cowboys to 12-7 lead.pic.twitter.com/6Q3IYftlUL
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) October 2, 2022
Cowboys WR Michael Gallup scores a touchdown in 2022 debut after tearing ACL
It was nice to see that Gallup wasted no time getting back to his old ways. It felt right for him to be the one to put the Cowboys up in this game.
The 26-year-old found CeeDee Lamb and Zack Martin for a big hug in the end zone to celebrate the touchdown.
Unfortunately, this exciting touchdown was followed by a blocked extra-point attempt. Maher, who has been stellar for the Cowboys, had his kick batted down by Washington’s Efe Odoba. Thankfully, he made up for it by tackling Odoba before he was able to scoop it up and return it for a score.
This team certainly needs to play better than they did in the first half if they want to win this game. However, it’s nice to say that Gallup is back and the Cowboys are up 12-7 at halftime.
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