Dallas Cowboys: Winners and losers vs. Texans in Preseason Week 2

Winner: Cooper Rush

As bad as Garrett Gilbert was in this game, Cooper Rush was just as good. The former undrafted signing from Central Michigan was great during the 2017 preseason. He showed a lot of poise and was very accurate with his passes.

Things weren’t as great for him in the following offseasons but he still had the trust of the coaching staff and was the lone backup for them in 2019. By 2020, he was off the team and joined Jason Garrett in New York. Eventually, he found his way back to Big D and is now battling for the second job again. And on Saturday, he made a case for himself.

Rush moved Dallas right down the field for a touchdown on his first driver, capping things off with a touchdown pass to Tony Pollard. He hit another score later in the game, finding Cedrick Wilson from nine yards out.

He did have one terrible pass just before the end of the first half where he threw the ball up for grabs — while being hit. Looking for Reggie Davis, he nearly hit Lonnie Johnson and Jonathan Owens of the Texans instead. The ball fell harmlessly to the ground, and there was a penalty for a high hit on Rush, but he still can’t throw it up for grabs like that.

The veteran signal-caller ended up completing 10-of-12 passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns while also adding a seven-yard run. Overall, it was a great showing for him ‚— and had to have felt great for the coaching staff after watching the way Gilbert struggled to start the game.