Coming off an embarrassing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their regular season opener, the Dallas Cowboys will look to bounce back against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week Two.
But they’ll attempt to do so without several key players. Stars like quarterback Dak Prescott, safety Jayron Kearse, wide receiver Michael Gallup, offensive guard Connor McGovern, and defensive end Tarell Basham have all been ruled out for this contest due to injuries.
So, in order for the Cowboys to come out victorious against a Bengals squad who went to the Super Bowl last season, Dallas will need several of their players to step up and provide stellar performances. The biggest one is undoubtedly quarterback Cooper Rush.
In order for the Cowboys to beat the Bengals they are going to need a stellar performance from their backup QB. But this doesn’t necessarily mean Rush will need to throw for 500-plus yards and multiple touchdowns in an old fashion shoot-out with Joe Burrow, the Bengals’ starting passer.
Instead, Rush must execute within the offense given to him, which should be a more run-first, control the clock-type offensive scheme from Kellen Moore, the team’s offensive coordinator. The inexperienced passer, who only has one NFL start under his belt, must limit his personal mistakes and play turnover-free ball.
Unfortunately, the score may not allow Rush to sit back and simply be a game-manager. In that case, Rush will be asked to take some risks down the field. And while playing hero ball isn’t ideal, Rush may be asked to go out and win the game at some point. Just like he did last year in Minnesota.
In his lone start in the NFL, a Week Eight matchup against the Minnesota Vikings last season, Rush was able to pull out a last minute victory over the Vikes, 20-16. But wide receiver Amari Cooper was a big part of that comeback, being targeted a whopping 13 times in that game by Rush and scoring the winning touchdown with :51 seconds left. Wide out Cedrick Wilson Jr. was also a big part of that win, scoring on a 73-yard touchdown pass.
See the Cowboys, Vikings 2021 game highlights by clicking here.
Now, here’s the bad news. The Cowboys allowed Wilson to leave in free agency this offseason. And the Dallas brass also traded Cooper away in a move they likely now regret as the team struggled to find a consistent receiving option in Week One outside of tight end Dalton Schultz. Without Cooper or Wilson, Rush will likely have a very hard time finding any open wide receivers against the Bengals, just as Prescott struggled to do in Week One against the Bucs.
Many were hoping that CeeDee Lamb would flourish in his new role as the team’s top wideout. But the third-year receiver struggled to gain any sort of separation in Week One. In fact, according to ESPN Stats & Info via ESPN’s Todd Archer, Lamb’s average of just 2.11 yards of separation was the lowest among all the Cowboys’ receivers.
Lamb was targeted a whopping 11 times against the Bucs last Sunday, but was only able to come away with two catches for 29 yards. And, in turn, the Cowboys were the only team in the NFL not to score a touchdown in Week One.
Clearly, the Tampa Bay defense targeted Lamb as the team’s top receiver threat and did a good job of limiting his opportunities. But Lamb, as a number one option, must find a better way to contribute regardless.
Outside of Lamb, and with Gallup still sidelined, the receiver corps in Dallas is thin. Veterans Noah Brown and Simi Fehoko are candidates to step up as regular targets for Rush this summer. And rookies Jalen Tolbert and Dennis Houston could surprise as well. Finally, we’ve gone on record stating our belief that another rookie wideout, KaVontae Turpin, could be the spark plug this offense needs to break out of their funk.
In the end, it will likely take a Herculean group effort for the Dallas Cowboys to win this matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals with Cooper Rush under center. And someone will need to step up from this receiver corps and make some big plays for Rush just like Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson Jr. did last year in Minnesota.
