What a Rush! Cooper's First Start Ends in Dramatic Cowboys' Win
The first time I saw Cooper Rush play football was on Sept. 3, 2015. I was in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, covering Oklahoma State on the road against Central Michigan for the College Football America Yearbook.
I didn’t know who Rush was at the time. He was just a name on a roster to me. Central Michigan lost that game to Oklahoma State, but it was close most of the way before the Cowboys walked away with a 24-13 win.
But I left Mount Pleasant impressed with Rush. I thought to myself, ‘That guy could play in the NFL one day.’
Well, here we are. Rush finally got his shot and he didn’t throw it away.
Was it perfect? Absolutely not. There was sloppiness. There were missed reads. The Vikings defense bottled up running back Ezekiel Elliott and dared Rush to beat them.
Ultimately, he did.
“I got my first start and I had wanted it for a long time,” Rush told NBC’s Michelle Tafoya after the game. “Everyone stuck together and got it done.”
This is the Cowboys, of course, so nothing happens without drama.
And that drama came at the end of the game. Two minutes and 51 seconds to play. The Cowboys were down three points and needed a field goal to tie or a touchdown to take the lead.
In other words, every quarterback’s dream from childhood. It’s an area where starter Dak Prescott excels. It’s an area Rush hadn’t inhabited in a meaningful game since he left Central Michigan after the 2016 season.
You have to be good in those situations. You also need a little luck. And Rush got it with Amari Cooper’s 33-yard catch down the sideline to move the Cowboys into Vikings territory. Amari Cooper and Vikings defender Harrison Smith played ping-pong with the football until Cooper came up with the catch.
A few plays later, Rush faced 3rd-and-11 at the Viking 20, only because Minnesota inexplicably called consecutive timeouts and the officials granted the second time out, leading to a rare defensive delay of game penalty.
He had to make a play or get someone to make a play for him. Rush found Elliott over the middle, and while Zeke had a hard time running the football most of the night, he split a pair of Vikings defenders for a 15-yard gain to the 5-yard line.
Without the delay-of-game penalty, Elliott would have been a yard short of the first down.
One play later, Rush found Cooper in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown, though Rush wasn’t sure at first.
“I couldn’t tell if he caught it or not,” Rush said. “There was traffic everywhere. I threw it high and inside, but I couldn’t tell.”
The Cowboys got the win, and Rush and Cooper assumed a unique distinction in NFL history.
I saw Rush throw those kinds of passes at Central Michigan. High, tight and confident. A year after I saw him against Oklahoma State, I watched him and the Chippewas beat Oklahoma State on the road. I wasn’t surprised.
Rush hadn’t started a game in the NFL. In fact, he had three official passes going into the game. The NFL is much different than college football. The expectations are stratospheric when you quarterback for a team like the Cowboys, especially when you’re replacing a potential league MVP. The goal isn’t to be like Dak. It’s to be good enough.
Rush looked shaky early. The long touchdown pass to Cedrick Wilson settled him down. Losing Tyron Smith on the left side didn’t help matters, especially when former Cowboys safety Xavier Woods sacked Rush and forced a fumble, which at the time looked critical.
Rush made it irrelevant. He ended the night with 325 yards passing, two touchdowns and one interception. He threw 40 times, probably more than the Cowboys wanted, but it ended up being what they needed.
Prescott likely returns next week against Denver. Rush’s performance was, odds are, a one-shot deal. In fact, if the Cowboys are to reach their Super Bowl aspirations, it needs to be.
But, at least there is comfort in knowing that Rush has the chops to handle the job. And a little satisfaction in knowing that what I saw in Rush back then showed up when he finally got his shot.
You can reach Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
