The Dallas Cowboys were competitive for most of the game against the Houston Texans, but it was only a matter of time until the scoreboard reflected the current state of the in-state rivals. While the Texans have a lot to clean up, Dallas' shortcomings reared their ugly head Monday night.
Mike McCarthy made the utterly baffling decision to take three points off the board late in the third quarter after Houston committed a penalty on Brandon Aubrey's 64-yard field goal. Keeping the points would have brought the Cowboys within a touchdown, 20-13.
Dallas ultimately lost 34-10. While Cooper Rush looked better than he did last week, he still wasn't anywhere near good enough to justify another start.
It is time for the Cowboys to play Trey Lance.
The Cowboys need to bench Cooper Rush for Trey Lance after Week 11 loss
You gotta take Cooper Rush out of the game. His terrible ball placement is getting players killed.
— Matt Owen (@ProfessorO_NFL) November 19, 2024
Rush dropped back 55 times (another indictment on McCarthy) and completed just 58% of his passes for 354 yards and one touchdown to one interception. For what it's worth, 64 of those yards came on a short hitch route that KaVontae Turpin took to the house. His 6.4 yards per attempt is a marked improvement relative to last week, but again it is ballooned by Turpin's TD.
The Texans dropped at least four interceptions. CeeDee Lamb had to take an offensive pass interference to save an end zone pick.
Beyond the turnover-worthy plays, Rush was inaccurate all game. He threw behind his receivers a handful of times and missed newcomer Jonathan Mingo high on a 4th-and-2 in the red zone. He also had a sack fumble that Houston returned for a touchdown that put the game out of reach.
There is a lot to like about Rush. He also isn't working with much in terms of a running game and at wide receiver sans CeeDee Lamb. He's been with the organization for seven years and is respected in the locker room. We get all of that.
But the Cowboys traded for Trey Lance. At this point, it's time to see what they have there. It may be nothing, but Dak Prescott's injury gives them a perfect runway to evaluate the former No. 3 overall pick.
Both Rush and Lance are free agents after the season. Whereas Rush is 30 years old and has reached his ceiling as a player, Lance is still just 24 and could develop into a quality backup. His upside was on display in preseason. So were his pitfalls, but Dallas has nothing to lose by playing him the final seven games.