Cooper Rush went to the podium for postgame interviews and acted as if he had been there a hundred times after winning a hundred games. Rush’s matter-of-fact answers, combined with the lack of even a smile, prompted Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram to ask what should have been obvious but wasn’t: Are you excited?
“Winning an NFL game is a lot of fun,” Rush said.
Rush has started two NFL games. He has won both.
The former undrafted free agent subbed for Dak Prescott against the Vikings last season and led the Cowboys to a 20-16 victory by completing 24 of 40 passes for 325 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
On Sunday, he led the Cowboys on a six-play, 33-yard, game-winning drive in the final two minutes. Brett Maher kicked a 50-yard field goal on the final play to give Dallas a hard-fought 20-17 win over the Bengals.
Rush was 19-of-31 for 235 yards with a touchdown.
Even owner Jerry Jones said afterward that Rush exceeded his expectations.
Rush will remain the starter only as long as Prescott is out following hand surgery. Then, it’s back to the bench.
But does Rush think he’s done enough in the preseason and two regular-season starts to show he deserves a chance to be a full-time NFL starter?
“Every time you’re out there you just want to go play ball and do your job,” Rush said. “Fortunately, I have a very good football team. That helps. Great players around me and you just want to keep getting better. In the end, it was only my second career start, so you just want to keep improving, tons of stuff to look at and learn from and that’s what we will do this week.”