FRISCO, Texas – Cooper Rush's seventh career start was nothing like the other six, throwing for just 45 total yards on 23 passing attempts in a 34-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Head coach Mike McCarthy shouldered the blame for not getting Rush into a groove on Sunday.
"I didn't get Cooper [Rush] into a rhythm, and that's something that I didn't feel good about in the game…" McCarthy said. "We need to find a better way of doing that, I need to do a better job there."
Despite a solid first half from Rico Dowdle and the Dallas run game, the Cowboys couldn't convert on manageable down and distance situations, finishing the day 3-14 on third down to go along with six punts. 3rd and manageable has been a place that McCarthy has wanted to be at for weeks with this offense but couldn't execute when it presented itself against Philadelphia.
"How can you manufacture the ball getting down the field or getting it into green grass, we had a number of crossing routes that we felt good about and it just didn't happen," McCarthy said when asked about the Cowboys' lack of trying to push the ball downfield. "And that's the way the game goes… Ball didn't go down the field enough, that's for sure."
It didn't go down the field at all through the air, as Rush went 0/6 on passes more than 10 yards downfield, with the Cowboys becoming the seventh team this season to not have completed a pass with 10 or more air yards in a game.
McCarthy tried to ignite a spark in the offense by inserting Trey Lance in the second half, who Dallas traded a fourth-round pick for in 2023, and saw some ups and downs in his play including 38 yards of offense, but two sacks and an interception to go along with it. Regardless of the outcome, McCarthy was pleased with getting Lance some valuable reps.
"I thought he did some good things, and definitely some things that he can learn from, it was good to get him in there." McCarthy said.
With Dak Prescott's status for both the coming weeks and the rest of the season looming, McCarthy announced that Dallas is close to bringing in a third quarterback, presumably as a practice squad addition.
"We are close to getting one… we're in the process of signing one." McCarthy said.
Despite the struggles on Sunday, this coaching staff and locker room is confident in Rush's abilities as a quarterback. He's won this franchise games in the past, and this one performance doesn't mean that Rush can't still win them games now. McCarthy made it clear that the Cowboys will turn to him again on Monday night when the Houston Texans come to town for a primetime matchup at AT&T Stadium.
"Yes, Cooper Rush will be the starter this week." McCarthy said.
