How adversity has brought out the best in the Cowboys
Dak Prescott went down late in week one. That injury appeared to spell doom for the Dallas Cowboys. However, two weeks later, the Cowboys are sitting with a 2-1 record. That includes victories over the high-powered Cincinnati Bengals and divisional rival New York Giants. Cooper Rush has played well in Prescott's absence. While he hasn't […]
Dak Prescott went down late in week one. That injury appeared to spell doom for the Dallas Cowboys.
However, two weeks later, the Cowboys are sitting with a 2-1 record. That includes victories over the high-powered Cincinnati Bengals and divisional rival New York Giants.
Cooper Rush has played well in Prescott's absence. While he hasn't put up gaudy numbers, Rush is making timely throws, moving the chains, and putting the offense in positions to succeed. Rush himself deserves a ton of credit. But, so do Mike McCarthy and Kellen Moore.
Cowboys have adjusted around Rush
Adjustments are needed when a key player goes down. That is especially true when the starting, franchise quarterback suffers an injury that will keep him sidelined for multiple weeks.
Therefore, the Dallas Cowboys have made some changes in game planning with Cooper Rush behind center. So far, the changes have helped Rush
"The Cowboys do put together a game plan differently with Cooper Rush at quarterback than they do with Dak Prescott," said Brian Baldinger on NFL Network. "A lot of play action. A lot of max-protection and half-field reads."
Furthermore, Baldinger specifically mentioned the two tight end sets that the Dallas Cowboys have used over the last two weeks. Against the Giants, the Cowboy played a heavy of dose of Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot.
The Cowboys have developed game plans that get the ball out of Cooper Rush's hands quickly. That leads to less sacks, less quarterback hits, and less mistakes. Rush has operated the game plans, through two games, in an efficient manner.
Dallas has two consecutive wins with a backup quarterback. That in-itself is an impressive feat by the coaching staff. The ability to adjust on the fly and work around the personnel available should only pay off in a big way when Prescott does return to action.
The Cowboys were faced with adversity early in the 2022 season. So far, the coaching staff has responded very well to it.
Featured image via Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
