The Cowboys weren’t expected to be competitive without Dak Prescott available. However, two weeks after their starting quarterback suffered a thumb injury against the Buccaneers, the Cowboys find themselves with a winning record for the first time in 2022.
Dallas has won both of its games without Prescott. The team has gotten great efforts out of its defense while players like Ezekiel Elliott, Tony Pollard and CeeDee Lamb have all stepped up to help carry the Cowboys to victory.
But backup quarterback Cooper Rush has been the biggest surprise of the bunch.
Not much was expected of Rush in place of Prescott. It was widely presumed that they would lose to the Bengals in Week 2 while they were considered slight underdogs in their Week 3 matchup with the Giants.
Rush defied expectations and was able to help the Cowboys earn victories in each of those two games.
Neither win was in spite of him, and especially not the victory over the Giants.
MORE: Dak Prescott aiming for Week 4 return, but could Cooper Rush buy him time?
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy was pleased with Rush after Dallas’ 23-16 win over New York. He said that Rush played “very well” and praised him for his effort on the field.
“I thought he did a great job exercising the game plan,” McCarthy said. “I thought he managed the game very well.”
“I thought he managed the game very well.”
Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy on on his QB Cooper Rush. pic.twitter.com/1ct7bL7VSm
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) September 27, 2022
Indeed, Rush had a solid outing, one that his stat line of 215 passing yards and a touchdown would back up. It also highlighted some of the historic achievements he has racked up through just three career starts.
Here are a handful of the crazy facts about Rush as he continues to establish himself at the NFL level.
Cooper Rush joins Kurt Warner in the annals of NFL history
Warner is one of the most unlikely success stories in NFL history, and his rise from grocery store clerk to Hall of Famer has been well chronicled. So, Rush being on a list with him is a pretty remarkable achievement.
How did he do that? Well, Rush became the first undrafted quarterback since Warner to start his career 3-0 while racking up at least 750 passing yards in those contests, per NFL research.
Cooper Rush is the first undrafted QB to win each of his first 3 NFL starts and throw for 750+ yards over those starts since @kurt13warner in 1999 with the Rams.
Warner went on to win NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP that season.@dallascowboys | #MondayNightFootball https://t.co/deiHrzRmcm
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) September 27, 2022
Is this a bit of statistical cherry-picking? Sure, but it’s not easy to get opportunities to start as an undrafted quarterback, let alone to go undefeated in those outings.
MORE: Breaking down Cooper Rush’s career timeline, from undrafted to Cowboys’ backup
Cooper Rush joins an exclusive list of 3-0 Cowboys quarterbacks
Not only is it hard for an undrafted quarterback to start his career 3-0, but it isn’t something that Cowboys quarterbacks have done often either.
Before Rush’s win on Monday night, only three Dallas quarterbacks began their starting careers with three straight victories. They were as follows, per CBS Sports:
- Roger Staubach
- Steve Beuerlein
- Jason Garrett
Rush can now add his name to that exclusive list. He may also get a chance to join Beuerlein as the only quarterback to begin his Dallas career with a 4-0 record if he gets to start in Week 4 against Washington.
Cooper Rush has a historic clutch streak
Rush hasn’t just been good for the Cowboys. He has been clutch too.
ESPN shared a graphic late in its broadcast that highlighted the 3-0 start to Rush’s career as a starter. It pointed out that Rush is not only undefeated in his first three starts, but he logged a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime of each contest.
No other NFL player has done that since the merger in 1970.
DAWG pic.twitter.com/FOtyUAA2rK
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 27, 2022
So, not only has Rush been able to consistently win, he has done so in tightly contested games.
MORE: How long is Dak Prescott out? Latest updates about Cowboys QB’s recovery from thumb injury
Cooper Rush exacted revenge on the Giants for his six months in New York
Funny enough, it actually seemed like the Cowboys were done with Rush during the 2020 NFL offseason. The team signed Andy Dalton in May as its backup to Prescott and waived Rush after having previously re-signed him to a one-year deal.
That left Rush without a spot on the depth chart. He sought a new opportunity and ended up with the Giants, who then employed former Cowboys coach Jason Garrett.
Rush wanted a chance to compete for the backup job behind Daniel Jones. He got to do so during training camp but was ultimately waived twice by the Giants. First, it was so that he could sign to the practice squad.
After that, he was released in favor of Clayton Thorson, who most recently played for the USFL’s Houston Gamblers.
The #Giants claimed Cooper Rush off waivers from the #Cowboys in 2020, then cut him. Twice.
Out of the NFL for a month before Dallas re-signed him after Dak Prescott’s injury that year, Rush is now 3-0 as starting QB after throwing for 215 yards and a TD in tonight’s 23-16 win.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 27, 2022
Rush landed back in Dallas after all that because of an injury to Prescott. From there, he climbed the depth chart again and became the team’s top backup in 2021.
So, Rush ended up finding his opportunity in Dallas. And he showed the Giants a bit of what they were missing in the Cowboys’ victory on Monday night.
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