Even if they’re not likely to play a single snap, all NFL players must stay ready every week. Any given Sunday, they might get the chance to prove their worth, as Dallas Cowboys’ Cooper Rush proved last night as Dak Prescott’s replacement.
Prescott was deemed a game-time decision for most of the week and was eventually ruled out of the Cowboys’ Sunday Night Football showdown due to a calf injury. Rush, however, was ready to embrace the challenge.
The perennial backup proved it by leading the Cowboys to a scrappy, yet impressive 20-16 road win over the Minnesota Vikings, throwing for 325 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Dak Prescott, Cowboys Stars SoundOff On Cooper Rush’s Incredible NFL Debut
Needless to say, that kind of performance drew plenty of praise and compliments among his teammates, with Prescott lauding his ability to overcome adversity and lead his team to a big win:
“That’s Coop. He’s very mild tempered and always that way, never too high or too low,” Prescott said.“It showed tonight. It allowed him to stay in there, stick to it, stick through some bad plays and come out and make some great plays to win the game that we needed in 4th quarter.”
“I’m proud of him,” said CeeDee Lamb. “You don’t want to be in a two-minute situation, away, here, because it was loud, you have a lot of drums, horns, fans going crazy. I wouldn’t say everything went as planned, but we got the plays we needed when it counted.”
“Trust the matchups on the outside. These guys can’t guard us,” added Amari Cooper. “We’re confident. I think we know we can overcome anything.”
Rush could be in line for another couple of starts as Prescott’s availability is still up in the air for the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, he’ll be able to hold down the fort and continue to lead them through this playoff run.