Making just his second career start, Cooper Rush completed 19 of 31 passes for 235 yards and a first-quarter touchdown pass to Noah Brown.
Cooper Rush : Cowboys | Stats | Draft | vs Vikings
Cooper Robert Rush (born November 21, 1993), also known as Super Duper Cooper Crush, is an American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL).
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | November 21, 1993 Charlotte, Michigan |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight: | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Lansing Catholic (Lansing, Michigan) |
| College: | Central Michigan (2012–2016) |
| Undrafted: | 2017 |
He played college football at Central Michigan, and was signed by the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2017.
In his redshirt season at Central Michigan, he was named the school’s Scout Team Player of the Year. As a freshman, although he began the season as the third-string quarterback, he was named the starter by the third game, after Cody Kater was injured (collarbone fracture) and his backup Alex Niznak couldn’t move the offense against the University of New Hampshire.
In that contest he came in the second quarter and helped engineer a 24–21 come from behind victory, where he tallied 326 passing yards and 3 touchdowns, tying the school record for the longest in history (97 yards).
He would never relinquish the position or miss a start after the game.
Cowboys
However, Cooper Rush was the talk of the town and the star of the show on Sunday. He gets the Cowboys game ball for this week.
Aided by a Dallas pass rush that sacked Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow six times and a Dallas run game that kept Rush in third and manageable downs, he executed as well as as one could expect given the circumstances.
Rush commanded the line of scrimmage Sunday afternoon, often playing cat and mouse with Bengals defensive play-callers, and showing a confident cadence that forced defenders into the neutral zone multiple times before the snap.
Most importantly, Rush avoided making the big mistake to hurt his team. The veteran didn’t have a jaw-dropping stat line, (19/31, 235 yards, 1TD) but he was efficient and did an excellent job of managing the game.
The biggest takeaway from Rush’s performance was his composure throughout the game in critical moments.
One example was on the Cowboys’ opening drive: Facing a 4th and 2 on their side of the field, Rush, with the Bengals pass rush closing in, hung in the pocket and delivered a strike over the middle of the field to Noah Brown for a first down.
Cooper rush stats
Coming out of Central Michigan, Rush was projected by the majority of NFL draft experts and analysts to be a seventh round pick or a priority undrafted free agent.
On December 6, 2016, it was announced that Rush had accepted his invitation to the East–West Shrine Game.
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On January 21, 2017, Rush performed in the East–West Shrine Game for the East and completed 11 of 17 pass attempts for 97 yards in a 10–3 loss to the West.
He received an invitation to the NFL combine and performed almost all of the required drills except for the bench press. He had an underwhelming lackluster performance and had some of the lowest marks at the combine.
On March 20, 2017, Rush participated at Central Michigan’s pro day and chose to attempt the vertical jump, broad jump, short shuttle, and three-cone drill once again.
He gave a slower time in the three-cone drill (7.28), but was able to have better results in the vertical (30″), broad (8’11”), and short shuttle (4.46). Rush was ranked the 14th best quarterback prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.
Cooper rush draft
Rush did not hear his name called in the 2017 NFL Draft. After going undrafted, he signed with the Cowboys as a free agent.
Rush made the Cowboys’ initial 53-man roster in 2017 and spent the following three seasons with the team, making five combined appearances while mostly serving as the team’s backup.
Dallas released Rush in May 2020 as they brought in veteran Andy Dalton as their new backup.
The NFC East rival New York Giants subsequently claimed Rush off waivers and he began the 2020 season on their practice squad.
But New York released Rush in September 2020 in favor of fellow quarterback Clayton Thorson.
Rush rejoined Dallas on the practice squad in October 2020 and he’s remained with the Cowboys, either on their practice squad or active roster, since.
Vs Vikings
Backup quarterback Cooper Rush led the Cowboys to a come-from-behind 20-16 victory over the Vikings on “Sunday Night Football.”
Dallas (6-1) took its first lead of the game with 51 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter when Rush threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper in the back left corner of the end zone.
Earlier in the drive, Cooper made a juggling 33-yard catch to get the Cowboys into Minnesota territory.
Cooper finished 122 receiving yards, only his second game of the year over 100. Fellow Dallas wide receiver CeeDee Lamb finished with 112 receiving yards, his third game this season with 100 or more.
Rush stepped in after Dak Prescott (calf) was ruled out in a game-time decision. Rush, playing in his first game since 2017, finished with 325 passing yards, two touchdown passes and one interception. He also completed 60 percent of his throws (24 for 40).
Minnesota (3-4) had taken a 16-13 lead with 2:51 to go in the fourth quarter, aided greatly by three Cowboys penalties for 33 yards. Tarell Basham was flagged for roughing the passer and Randy Gregory was penalized twice for unnecessary roughness. Even with the free yardage, the Vikings had to settle for a 24-yard Greg Joseph field goal.
Minnesota QB Kirk Cousins finished the game with 184 passing yards and one touchdown. This was Cousins’ first game this season with less than 200 passing yards.