Cooper Rush struggles as the Dallas Cowboys fell to the Philadelphia Eagles on national television. Billed as a heavyweight battle between two top teams in the conference, Dallas turned the ball over multiple times while Philadelphia cruised to an easy victory. Philadelphia maintains a stranglehold on the NFC East with Dallas and the New York Giants in the rearview mirror.
Cooper Rush Struggles as Dallas Drops NFC East Matchup
Cooper Rush Struggles Early and Often
Rush had a rough night in Philadelphia against the Eagles. The backup quarterback suffered the first career loss as a starter at the hands of Jalen Hurts and the 6-0 Eagles. Rush only managed 18/36 passing with 181 yards. He found the endzone but was picked off three times against the talented Eagles defense.
Rush managed a dismal 37.3 passer rating during this divisional showdown. Rush started off slow and put the Cowboys in a hole, quickly throwing two interceptions within his first nine attempts. This was atypical of the backup quarterback. Rush has been excellent this season starting a conversation about a quarterback controversy. With this difficult performance, Rush showed why Dak Prescott will be the starter as soon as he returns healthy.
Dallas Cowboys Defense
The Dallas defense played well tonight given the difficult field position and time of possession. The defense racked up four sacks with another six tackles for loss. Dallas also managed three passes defended against the Cowboys. This performance was impressive given how great the Eagles offense has played thus far in 2022.
Dallas held the Eagles to only 268 total yards. The defense played well enough to win despite multiple short fields for the Eagles thanks to three turnovers. If the defense can keep up this great play, Dallas will get back on track next week against the Detroit Lions.
Turnovers
Rush struggled mightily tonight throwing three interceptions. He was late on passes all night and was even hit at he was releasing the ball. The interceptions were two-fold, great play by the secondary and tremendous pass-rush by the defensive line. Philadelphia did not manage a sack, however, the Eagles defense pressured Rush all game forcing bad throws into coverage.
Rush threw some poor passes tonight including two interceptions to C.J. Gardner-Johnson and a third to Darius Slay. The Dallas quarterback was late and off-target all night and the Eagles secondary took advantage. Philadelphia’s secondary came up big time and time again to secure the game and, for now, the NFC East.
Final#DALvsPHI | #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/PJHkjWSZMU
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) October 17, 2022
Eagles Offense
Philadelphia struggled to move the ball on the Dallas defense with 155 passing yards and 136 rushing yards. Miles Sanders managed just 71 yards on 18 attempts and a touchdown. Hurts threw for two more touchdowns tossing a score to A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith each. The Eagles had multiple drives starting with great field position at their own 40-yard line or in Dallas territory.
Eagles Defense
The Philadelphia defense was the deciding factor on Sunday Night. The Eagles defended 12 of Rush’s passes. With three interceptions and double-digit defended passes, the Eagles secondary took control of the game and the NFC East. Thanks to the defense, the Eagles are in the driver’s seat of the division.
The Philadelphia Eagles are 6-0. pic.twitter.com/khHYH9MH98
— Barstool Gambling (@stoolgambling) October 17, 2022
No More Quarterback Controversy
Coming into Sunday Night Football there were rumors of a quarterback controversy in Dallas. Rush was 4-0 in his career as a starter and was playing great. There were rumors and the possibility of a quarterback competition once Prescott returned to action. Rush’s poor performance tonight solidified why Prescott is the starter and earns $40 million plus per year.
Despite losing to the Eagles, Dallas has a great chance to win the division and make the playoffs. Their defense remains elite and with Prescott at the helm, the offense should be able to score on anyone. If Prescott can elevate this offense the Cowboys could be a legit Superbowl dark horse come the postseason.
