Cowboys' Cooper Rush is the sole owner of an NFL record and Heisman Trophy voters should give him a plaque for it
I'm going to be honest with you: I can't stop thinking about this tidbit of trivia about Cooper Rush handed out by the Dallas Cowboys public relations team ahead of Week 17. Believe it or not, the Cowboys backup quarterback is the sole owner of an NFL record and it just so happens to be one […]
I'm going to be honest with you: I can't stop thinking about this tidbit of trivia about Cooper Rush handed out by the Dallas Cowboys public relations team ahead of Week 17.
Believe it or not, the Cowboys backup quarterback is the sole owner of an NFL record and it just so happens to be one that relates to beating Heisman Trophy winners, something he has done back-to-back weeks now and will get another chance at it in Week 18. This is the feat I'm talking about:
"In just 13 NFL starts, Cooper Rush has already beaten Joe Burrow, Jayden Daniels, Bryce Young and Baker Mayfield. No other quarterback has beaten four Heisman-winning opposing starting QBs within his first 13 career starts."
Now granted, there's a lot of context going into this record and it's probably not even as big a deal as it sounds like right off the bat.
Football is a team sport and we know just how much Rush has been helped out by the defense and other circumstances whenever he's gotten a chance to start games. And obviously, you've got to be lucky enough to even face four Heisman winning quarterbacks in those career starts, something which no quarterback controls.
And even still, it's a pretty fun achievement to think about and I can't help but argue the Heisman Trophy Trust needs to work on a plaque to honor Rush. He's beating their guys consistently. I mean, he's beaten a Heisman quarterback in 30.7% of his career starts. You've got to give the guy something!
In all seriousness though, even if the record in question doesn't mean a whole lot, you've got to respect what Rush has been able to do in his limited opportunities to start for the Cowboys.
No, the accuracy isn't great and you can shut down any conversations about QB controversy. And no, he rarely will push the ball downfield (and when he does it'll get ugly). But… he does enough? And heck, give him credit for the Bucs win because that was Mike McCarthy putting the game in his hands, by the way.
There are many NFL teams that are happy with that when it comes to their backup quarterback. With Rush headed to free agency in 2025, I wonder if the Cowboys will pay him to stick around for longer. It's clear they like the Heisman Slayer.
