Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

Nothing like a huge Dallas win am I right?— With a 20-16 wing against the Minnesota Vikings, things could not have worked out better for the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night.

With Dak Prescott being out and gaining extra rest for his right calf strain, teammate Cooper Rush showed out and was able to show people what he was made off, and delivered the Cowboys huge win, and proved he can deliver if needed as a backup quarterback.

Photo by David Moore

What Rush played wasn’t too surprising given that Prescott did not take any team snaps in practice during the week before the game on Sunday, focusing on his rehab for the calf injury he suffered while throwing the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime to beat the New England Patriots. That was a game he played well in— considering Sunday with just 2 career yards on 1-of-3 passing and had not thrown a pass since 2017. A year ago, Rush did not make the Cowboys roster, on Sunday he delivered a massive win.

Rush completed 24 of 40b passes for 325 yards with 2 touchdowns, including a 5-yard fade to Amari Cooper with 51 seconds to play.

His first touchdown pass— a 73 yarder to Wilson in the third quarter— was the longest thrown by a Cowboy quarterback in his first start since Rodger Staubach had a 75 yarder in 1969. What was great about it all is that Rush looked like he belonged out there, in and out of everything.

Prescott went through his normal pregame warmup with the director of rehab Britt Brown on Sunday. After nearly 20 minutes, Prescott, McCarthy, and Brown discussed and put Prescott on the inactive list before the game started. No worries though, Prescott was on the sideline the entire game wearing a headset and ready to offer advice to Rush.

The Cowboys play the Denver Broncos on Nov. 7 and while McCarthy did not say anything about if Prescott would start for sure, the Cowboys believe the added time off with more rehab and practice work, his calf strain won’t be an issue.

Leading into the Vikings’ game, McCarthy and Prescott said it would be a group decision. While he looked fine during the warmup, the judgment was made to hold him out just for safety. Prescott was obviously against McCarthy’s final say, but at the end of the day, having Cooper Rush sub for Prescott was a great opportunity for Dallas to grow together as a team and win through another adverse moment.

Next Up: Dallas Cowboys play the Denver Broncos on their home field at 12:00 PM