McCarthy: Cowboys Preparing for Cooper Rush to Start Week 6 amid Dak Prescott Injury
October 12, 2022
It appears as if the Cooper Rush show will continue for the Dallas Cowboys during Sunday's high-profile showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles.
"We are preparing for Cooper to start against the Eagles," head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters Wednesday.
Prescott has yet to return from the thumb injury he suffered during a Week 1 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
An injury to Prescott figured to be a worst-case scenario for the Cowboys heading into the season seeing as how he is a two-time Pro Bowler with two seasons of more than 4,400 passing yards on his resume.
He also played just five games during the 2020 campaign, and the team struggled on the way to a 6-10 record.
Yet Rush has been a savior for Dallas with a 4-0 record as a starter this season. The team has bounced back from that opening loss to the Buccaneers and is just one game behind the 5-0 Eagles ahead of Sunday night's contest.
Rush has completed 61 percent of his passes for 839 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions while managing the games and getting the ball into the hands of the playmakers around him.
It has been a successful formula to this point, but the Cowboys' ceiling as they chase a Lombardi Trophy is higher when Prescott is under center.
Prescott may be nearing a return since he told reporters last Sunday that he is day-to-day and can grip a football, but that doesn't seem likely to happen against the Eagles. That tracks after NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport previously reported he "would need to make significant strides to be ready to return from his fractured right thumb" in time for the Philadelphia contest.
The Mississippi State product was initially given a four-to-six week timeline for return after the injury that required surgery, and Monday was the four-week mark.
But the team is winning with its backup under center, meaning there is less pressure to rush the starter back even ahead of a crucial game against the division leaders.