Is there actually a QB controversy in Dallas? The Cooper Rush-led Dallas Cowboys have won once again as they defeated the undefeated Giants 23-16 to now go into second in NFC East at 2-1, obviously sparking debates about a Prescott vs. Rush QB controversy.
Finally, we are treated to a good primetime game. I feel like there hasn’t been a good primetime game on Monday Night Football and Sunday Night Football all season long (which, admittedly, hasn’t been that long). And when that game was a Giants vs. Cowboys game, you know that’s saying a lot.
Anyway, how about that Cooper Rush? The guy has done it again as he has grinded out yet another victory for a team that looked like it would be hard pressed to even get one only three weeks ago.
Sure, he didn’t light the world on fire as he threw for 21/31, 215 yards, and 1 TD, but he also didn’t blow the game like his counterpart did. Cooper Rush is a steady game manager that can and will place the ball quickly and accurately to his receivers, which is difficult to stop for even the best defenses.
And his numbers would actually be a lot better if Ceedee Lamb, who caught 8 passes for 87 yards and 1 TD, didn’t drop a wide-open TD midway through the 3rd Quarter. There was not a single defender in a ten-yard vicinity as Rush hit him up with a beautiful 40-yard bomb right into his hands.
Lamb must have taken his eye off the ball and thought about where he was going to run to first as that’s the only explanation I can think of for a player of his quality to drop such an easy pass. Though, he did make up for that drop with a great one-handed TD catch in the back of the endzone to clinch the game.
Nevertheless, that throw and Rush’s play these last two games has impressed a lot of people, including me. Could there actually be a QB controversy?
Perhaps. But what I do know for certain is that it would be so ironic if this was how Dak Prescott’s time as the starting QB of the Dallas Cowboys came to an end.
From winning a hotly contested and controversial QB controversy against the injury-prone Tony Romo back in 2016 to now potentially being replaced by his own backup because of his rather frequent injury problems.
I guess that’s just the irony of being the quarterback of such a high profiled franchise owned by such a high profiled owner.
Though, if I had to guess, I’m almost certain Jerry Jones is hoping for Cooper Rush to win this QB controversy. I mean, he is the guy that started all of this buzz in the first place after Rush lead a 4th Quarter comeback drive against the Bengals last weekend.
“Why would he want that? He just paid Dak Prescott all of that money to be the starting QB,” ardent Dak fans are probably saying in response to that. And to that all I would say is they have just answered their own question.
Jerry Jones did pay A LOT of money to Dak Prescott…money he may want back to pay for other players at positions.
With Jerry Jones paying Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott $160M and $90M, respectively, it’s pretty obvious that he would want to free up that cap space to pay for more players in his attempt to win his 4th and elusive Super Bowl as the Cowboys owner.
Given that Cooper Rush is pretty comparable to Prescott (for now, that is), why wouldn’t Jerry pick the cheaper, younger (by a year) QB to spearhead his team?
For what Prescott and Elliott have done for this franchise thus far in their careers, which hasn’t been much in terms of winning, they should be really nervous about getting cut/traded by Jerry in the near future.
Especially Ezekiel Elliott.
Simply put, Elliott is washed up as a premiere running back in the NFL as Tony Pollard, who has been his understudied for most of his career, has now fully supplanted Eliott on the depth chart. And last night’s game against the Giants proved it.
With 15 rushes for 75 yards and 1 TD, Ezekiel Elliot’s stats may not seem to be that bad, but when you consider that the Giants focused most of their attention on Tony Pollard, who had 13 rushes for 103 yards, it’s clear to see that Elliott is no longer ‘the guy’ in Big D.
He’s not bad, it’s just that the Giants knew he would not break for 100 yards against them like Pollard could (and did), so they crowded the box more often when he was in the game. Reversely, when Elliott was in the backfield, there were more defensive backs and zone coverages used by the Giants defense.
Nonetheless, the real heroes of this game were Dallas’ defense. They swarmed that Giants offensive line and ate Daniel Jones for dinner as they finished the game with 5 sacks (with Demarcus Lawrence getting 3 by himself), 6 tackles for a loss, and 12 QB hits.
Behind a hastily strung together offensive line, Daniel Jones never stood a chance against the best pass rush in the league.
And, funnily enough, Micah Parsons didn’t even register a sack. That’s how you know this defense is legit.
Still, the Cowboys defense was greatly helped by Daniel Jones trademark boneheaded plays. I don’t know what former Giants GM Dave Gettleman saw in him, but Jones just isn’t an NFL caliber starting QB.
Yes, he can run pretty well, and he has above average agility, but his QB IQ and awareness is just shocking. He missed many important throws last night, while also not stepping up and out of the pocket when he needed to. And that interception to end the game was just another example of his poor awareness.
He should have seen that his WR had fallen on the play and checked the ball out to another option, rather than just zipping into the direction without looking.
Yeah, the Cowboys pass rush is elite and his O-Line most certainty wasn’t, but Jones also didn’t help them out by staying under pressure.
I’m not sure if either of these teams will make the playoffs this season as the Philadelphia Eagles appear to be the early favorites for winning the NFC East, which would further the 17-year streak of this division having a new title winner each season (which is an NFL record).
But that doesn’t take away from the fact that this was a really fun game to watch as the resurgence of the Giants and the emergence of Cooper Rush are both fantastic stories to follow.
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