FRISCO, Texas — The mission this week is simple in message, even if difficult in execution, as Cooper Rush and the Dallas Cowboys do all they can to somehow avoid a fifth consecutive loss at home in five tries this season but, to do so, they'll need Rush to regain the swagger that led him to a 5-1 record prior to being handed his second loss by the Philadelphia Eagles.
This time around, the Eagles were able to hold Rush to a total of just 46 passing yards, the lowest mark of his NFL career, with no touchdowns. Needless to say, the veteran quarterback expects a better showing when the Houston Texans line up on Monday Night Football.
"A couple days in a row, guys have been back at it," Rush said. "It's the NFL. You don't have time to [dwell] on it too much, so we're kind of focused on Monday night. ... You flush it. You get 24 hours and you're on to the Houston Texans."
Also suffering a neck strain when attempting to recover a fumble, Rush made it clear he's fine physically, despite being listed on the injury report this week; and he's been a full participant.
"No, we were good to go," he said. "A little neck thing, but we were good to go and I'm feeling great now."
Sitting at 3-6 on the season, a loss on Monday would only worsen the team's tailspin, but focusing solely on everything that went wrong last week would only lessen the odds of changing course this week.
"It's the NFL," said Rush. "You're going to win. You're going to lose, and get your butt smacked sometimes, and the beauty is that it's right back to us the next week. You don't have to wait a whole year. You don't have to do all that. It's right here, right in front of you and it doesn't really allow you to dwell on the last game as much.
"And so that's kind of what we're doing."
It's the Battle for Texas, and the key word there is battle.
