When starting quarterback Dak Prescott suffered an injured right thumb in Week 1 that required surgery, it was presumed the Dallas Cowboys were in deep trouble.
They lost that contest 19-3 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With Cooper Rush replacing Prescott under center, the Cowboys’ prospects didn’t look good at all.
But Rush has played solid ball in both of his starts and Dallas has won each of them.
This has raised hopes that “America’s Team” can indeed still make the playoffs and perhaps even finish first in the NFC East.
It was first thought Prescott would miss six to eight weeks with his thumb injury, but now there is talk he could return as soon as Week 4 against the Washington Commanders.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who is no stranger to creating controversy, says he would welcome a quarterback controversy as far as who should start once Prescott is ready to come back.
Jerry Jones wouldn’t mind a QB controversy between Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush. He said he’d walk to New York if it meant Rush played so well going forward that the Cowboys had a tough decision to make pic.twitter.com/3aG98I3Fx5
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) September 22, 2022
“Of course I want it,” Jones said. “… Of course we want Dak to be here next week. That’s the thing, you do. But Dak and I want Rush to lead the team to a victory here and get another win. Looking back, when Dak was playing instead of Tony [Romo], it was game by game.”
Jones was referring to the 2016 season when Prescott replaced an injured Romo during the preseason and led Dallas to eight straight wins, which led him to keep Prescott in the starting lineup when Romo recovered.
Could a similar situation be playing itself out right now for the Cowboys?
Rush Has Gotten The Job Done
Playing QB1 for the Cowboys is one of the most pressure-packed jobs in all of sports.
It is the equivalent of playing shortstop for the New York Yankees or being the main superstar for the Los Angeles Lakers, and therefore, the national media is ready to put such a man under an electron microscope.
One loss or one bad performance will mean dealing with as much scrutiny as anyone else in the league.
But Rush has played well since taking over for Prescott in Week 1.
He completed 19 of 31 passes for 235 yards in Week 2 versus the Cincinnati Bengals while throwing one touchdown pass and zero interceptions.
Last week, versus the New York Giants on the road, he went 21-of-31 while again throwing one touchdown pass and no interceptions.
Touchdown Cooper Rush to CeeDee Lamb 🔥pic.twitter.com/WlMgE7piKB
— ✭Cowboys News✭ (@DemBoyz_News) September 27, 2022
Rush’s passer rating in both games approached 100, and he only got sacked once in that span.
No one will ever confuse Rush for Troy Aikman or even Romo, but it’s starting to look like he can definitely keep the Cowboys afloat while Prescott gets healthy, especially if it won’t take Prescott as long as anticipated to return.
This Isn’t Romo-Prescott Part 2
Although Rush is playing solid ball, it’s hard to imagine him actually supplanting Prescott at QB1 as Prescott did to Romo several years ago.
For one, Rush went undrafted and had thrown a grand total of 50 NFL passes in his four seasons prior to this one while starting just one of 10 contests.
On the other hand, Prescott was a rookie in 2016 who had just been a fourth-round draft choice after a great college career at Mississippi State University.
He had 3,667 yards, 23 touchdowns (against just four interceptions) and a 104.9 quarterback rating as a rookie, which are the type of numbers Rush would be hard-pressed to match.
Furthermore, Romo was 36 in 2016, and after years of failing to perform in the playoffs – not to mention winning only two postseason games – it was simply time for the Cowboys to move on from him.
Prescott is 29, and although he may not be an elite QB, he has seemingly gotten better with age.
This whole supposed “quarterback controversy” could be nothing more than the flamboyant Jones trying to create headlines for his team and keep it relevant.
NEXT: NFL Insider Reveals Week 4 Dak Prescott Update