Cowboys WR Michael Gallup Has 'Jitters,' Makes 'Statement' in TD Return
The long-awaited return of Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Gallup couldn’t have gone much better. A touchdown. A win.
The right frame of mind.
“I definitely had jitters,” Gallup said after Sunday’s 25-10 victory over the Washington Commanders. “You’re supposed to, but I felt way better this week just from a mental aspect.”
Plenty of speculation pointed to Gallup’s return last week, as Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy alluded to during the leadup to Monday night’s visit to New York Giants. Gallup was a full participant in practice that week and all signs pointed to a prime-time debut in the Big Apple.
But Gallup didn’t feel ready mentally, and the Cowboys wisely waited another week. When he finally hit the field, almost nine months to that day of tearing his ACL last season, the fifth-year pro actually visualized scoring a touchdown.
“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “I’ve been envisioning it ever since I got hurt, it’s like when I came back, I need to make a statement.”
The Cowboys and Gallup certainly did in improving to 3-1, including a perfect 3-0 behind backup quarterback Cooper Rush. Even though Rush and Cooper had never shared the field in a regular season game, the duo looked in sync on Dallas’ first touchdown drive.
Down 7-6, Gallup made his first catch of the year – a 15-yarder on third-and-8 – to keep the march alive. They connected to again in the end zone, as Rush scrambled out of pressure and found No. 13 in the back of the end zone.
The Cowboys didn’t trail again.
“We always do the scramble drill, it’s a staple,” Rush said. “He’s caught a lot of touchdowns like that over the years like when Dak (Prescott) hits him on the back line on a scramble. I just came out and saw CeeDee (Lamb) there and kind of behind him, 13 was hauling.
“He just finds the window. He did a great job running and left himself some room back there to get his feet down. Just a classic MG play.”
Lamb noticed the Gallup’s impact. With another true threat in the passing game, Lamb caught six balls for a season-high 97 yards and a touchdown.
“He helped out a lot,” Lamb said of Gallup. “I got a lot more one-on-one matchups. (Washington) kind of played it more honest. As you can see, Noah (Brown) and him both were explosive today. It was a great offensive day.”
Gallup also drew several pass interference calls on Washington’s secondary. Having another receiver to stretch the field is critical for whoever the Cowboys have throwing the ball.
“With Michael you better be on your game, particularly vertically,” McCarthy said. “It was good to get him in the flow of the rest of the offense. It was great to have him back and I think it’s obvious what he means to us, particularly our offensive perimeter.”
Gallup finished the game with just those two catches for 24 yards. Despite the modest numbers, it was seemingly a perfect return with the touchdown.
“Nah,” Gallup added. “I could’ve had two.”
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