FRISCO, Texas – As Cooper Rush heads into his seventh start of the 2024 season, he's helped the Cowboys win three of their last four games. Another difficult challenge awaits on Sunday night when Todd Bowles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers come to town.
"He's aggressive, he's going to try to take it to you, load the box, stop the run, it starts there," Rush said of Bowles' defensive approach. "And then he can be very exotic and turn the heat up, and then if you don't have an answer for it he's going to keep turning it up."
The Buccaneers' defense has turned up the heat against their opponents in the last three game, allowing just 286.3 yards per game over that time span, the fifth best rate in the league. Part of that has come with the success Bowles' units have with disguising coverage on the backend, something that Rush knows the Cowboys will have to figure out if they want to put up points.
"They've been a good defense for a long time doing that everywhere he's been," Rush said on the disguised looks from the Buccaneers secondary. "They make you work on every play, kind of a lot like we do here, so I think a lot of training camp stuff of just trusting your eyes, trusting your communication, trust your rules, it allows you to try to play fast."
The upside of Rush being Dallas' backup quarterback has been his experience, dating all the way back to his days at Central Michigan. With reading all kinds of different defenses over the course of his time with the Chippewas and seven seasons in the NFL, eventually everything comes together and slows down.
"I'm fortunate to get a lot of starts in college, you still use a lot of those instincts that you got from that, all those games," Rush said. "And then each year in the league you just consume, and consume and consume, and it's almost like you wake up one day like 'I get it.'"
And while the game has slowed down for Rush, there are still things to clean up, notably the issues he's had in recent weeks with fumbles. Usually one of the more even-keeled players on the team, his frustrations on the sideline were clear after a redzone fumble led to an 83-yard touchdown pass to finish the first half one play later.
"If you look at it, I think I'm just a little quick out of it probably," Rush said of his evaluation of fumbles. "I keep hitting the back's hip, something you work on in practice and both us and the running backs have been working on it."
Rush bounced back in the second half, including throwing arguably his best pass in the NFL to Jalen Brooks in the third quarter to give the Cowboys a three-possession lead at the time.
"It was probably one of the better ones that I've ever had in life really, I don't know where it came from, but it came out at a good time," Rush said of the throw. "It was on the run there, you just kind of throw it out to the pylon, trusting his speed, you knew you just had to leave it out there for him."
Rush's best connection during his time as Dallas' starter has been with CeeDee Lamb, who is still out on the field despite playing through an AC sprain in his shoulder.
"That guy is a warrior, he's out there playing his butt off," Rush said. "He's catching the ball, running the ball, I don't think people realize how good he is after the catch."
Here and there, Lamb will still get up gingerly after a big hit or grimace after landing awkwardly on his shoulder. When that happens, Rush is just hopeful his guy can get back on his feet.
"When he hops back up, it's all good." Rush said through a laugh. "Take as much time as you need down there, but pop back up."
Lamb has popped back up plenty, and so has Dallas' offensive line even with injuries to several key contributors. One name that continues to come up with Rush and other players is Brock Hoffman, who is known for his energetic style of play but provides a lot more than just flash of energy.
"He's kind of a coach on the field type," Rush said of Hoffman. "He's always reminding guys of things, different alerts, because there's a lot of stuff happening up there up front… just brings a general attitude that I think a lot of guys feed off of."
Hoffman was replacing Beebe at center on Sunday against Carolina, the latest in the musical chairs that has been the Cowboys up front on offense. Even with so many bodies in different places protecting him, Rush knows they'll find a way to be on the same page.
"They handle it as a room, they're coached very well so the next guy up understands what needs to be done, the QB doesn't really have to change much…" Rush said. "But they're as well trained as a group together, they do everything together, that's how that room is."
