Talk about stepping in and stepping up for the Dallas Cowboys.
Cooper Rush replaced Dak Prescott (calf) as the Cowboys’ quarterback Sunday against the Vikings and the career backup made the most of his first start, leading Dallas to a 20-16 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
In front of his wife and parents, Rush threw for 325 yards and led Dallas on a 75-yard game-winning drive that concluded with a pass to Amari Cooper with 51 seconds left for the winning score.
Yes, it was Cooper to Cooper for the winning score.
Earlier on the drive, Amari Cooper made an incredible catch.
The concentration by Amari Cooper here 😱
📺: #DALvsMIN on NBC
📱: https://t.co/vo1pze9aC5 pic.twitter.com/WtUywfW0I3— NFL (@NFL) November 1, 2021
Then, needing a first down on third-and-11, Ezekiel Elliott took a short pass and split Minnesota defenders for a first down at the 5.
Zeke did that 💪 #DallasCowboys
📺: #DALvsMIN on NBC
📱: https://t.co/vo1pze9aC5 pic.twitter.com/FjAl2lrqPW— NFL (@NFL) November 1, 2021
That set up the Cooper-to-Cooper connection for the winning score.
COOPER TO COOPER.
Cowboys take the lead! #DallasCowboys
📺: #DALvsMIN on NBC
📱: https://t.co/vo1pze9aC5 pic.twitter.com/CB4Ortl0MD— NFL (@NFL) November 1, 2021
The Cooper-Rush-to-Amari-Cooper TD is the 1st in NFL history where the passer's first name & receiver's last name are an exact match
Cowboys also have the only pass TD where passer's LAST and receiver's FIRST were an exact match: Andy Dalton-Dalton Schultz in Wk 11, 2020 at MIN
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) November 1, 2021
Prescott loved what his backup did.
.@Dak is once again LOVING IT. #DallasCowboys
📺: #DALvsMIN on NBC
📱: https://t.co/vo1pze9aC5 pic.twitter.com/y8pFnD5tAZ— NFL (@NFL) November 1, 2021
Cooper Rush was 24-of-40 with 2 TD passes and 1 pick.