When the Dallas Cowboys face the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday they may rely on their unexpected saviour one last time: Backup quarterback Cooper Rush.

Munich – The final minutes of play were underway on this first day of play. Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Dallas Cowboys. Lots of expectations, little result. The Cowboys had scored just three points in just under 55 minutes when Dak Prescott’s hand was awkwardly hit on two plays. Misfortune in misfortune.

In the midst of those scenes, Cooper Rush jogged onto the field against a Bucs defence that was playing big. He directed the offensive line and the running back before the snap, indicated where the pressure would come from and, quite unspectacularly, delivered a quick pass for a 7-yard gain. A first taste.

Prescott was diagnosed with a fractured thumb and would be out of the game for four to six weeks. And Cooper Rush, who had only played one game as a starter so far, was called upon again.

Cowboys start winning streak

Under his leadership, the Cowboys won their last three games. Rush extended his record as a starter to 4-0, never before has a Cowboys quarterback managed four wins in his first four games as a starter

However, it must be said that these records always depend heavily on other factors, such as the performance of the own defence or the strength of the opponents.

“That’s what you dream of. When you’re a little kid, you want to start in the NFL one day. So it’s a great feeling,” Rush said during a press conference.

Cooper Rush playing (mostly) mistake-free football

Quite contrary to his last name, Rush exudes a lot of calm. The quarterback distributes the ball well to his receivers within the structure of a play, avoids mistakes and is efficient in the short passing game. So far, he has collected 767 passing yards, four touchdowns and has not recorded an interception – although he has had a few wobbles in his passes here and there.

Rush also keeps an overview under pressure. Defenders broke through the offensive line on just under a quarter of his pass attempts, but Rush still completed nearly 60 percent of his passes for 218 yards and just four sacks in the last three games.

Rush “doesn’t get rattled “

“He doesn’t get rattled, he plays very consistently and we can keep our foot on the gas on offense,” praised Head Coach Mike McCarthy.

Rush can draw this calmness from years of NFL experience. The quarterback has only made a handful of appearances so far, but landed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent back in 2017. Plenty of time to grow in the shadows.

“There’s no doubt he understands the offense, so we’re very fortunate. The point of having a backup quarterback is to be able to help out in emergency situations while having as little loss of quality as possible for the offense as a whole,” praised owner Jerry Jones.

Next chance against Rams

Against the Los Angeles Rams,

he will once again take to the turf as the conductor of the offense – perhaps for the last time for now. According to media reports, Prescott could get his starter’s job back after game day if there are no setbacks in the healing process.

Until then, though, the Cowboys are in good hands.