Dallas Cowboys stun Cincinnati Bengals behind defense, Cooper Rush

ARLINGTON, Texas — Cooper Rush’s demeanor, as usual, hadn’t changed. 

So an incredulous reporter asked: “Are you excited? You happy?” 

The Cowboys quarterback cracked a smile. 

“Winning an NFL game,” he conceded, “is fun.” 

Thus concluded the postgame emotion for the quarterback who completed 19-of-31 passes for 235 yards and one touchdown, while improving to 2-0 in his career starts. 

The Cowboys had entered their home contest vs. the Cincinnati Bengals as 7.5-point underdogs after losing franchise quarterback Dak Prescott to a thumb fracture that required surgery on his throwing hand. Could they rebound from an already league-worst offensive production in their season-opening loss? Could a pressure-enforcing defense wreak enough havoc with talented quarterback Joe Burrow to complement an evolving offense? 

The Cowboys held off Cincinnati, 20-17, Rush engineering a game-winning drive in the final minute that kicker Brett Maher’s 50-yard field goal sealed. Six sacks of Joe Burrow drove the performance. 

“We just bought into each other and said, ‘F what everybody else thinks, this is about us,’” said linebacker Micah Parsons, who notched two sacks, five quarterback hits and four total tackles. “And I think we came out here and proved that.” 

To the Cowboys’ credit, they didn’t only try to force plays from their veteran superstars. Sure, Ezekiel Elliott wore down the Bengals with 15 carries for 53 yards and third-year receiver CeeDee Lamb improved from 2-of-11 last week to 7-of-11 this week for 76 yards. 

But arguably the most meaningful offensive performances came from Rush, wide receiver Noah Brown and running back Tony Pollard. The trio who long represented Dallas’ second-team offense — if not third — were now ready to flash their chemistry as starters. 

Take the Cowboys’ first offensive series, when Rush and Lamb seemed to be on different pages en route to a third-down incompletion. The Cowboys now faced fourth-and-2 at their own 44. They stayed on the field, to what the Bengals later admitted was a surprise. 

Rush stayed calm as Bengals nose tackle D.J. Reader closed, finding Brown 17 yards upfield to extend the drive. 

“Any time you can show confidence in your team, that’s what you want to do as a coach,” McCarthy said. “I just had confidence in the situation, confidence in the call and obviously it was excellent execution.” 

Six plays later, Rush found Brown on a diving 9-yard touchdown. 

Add in a 46-yard Pollard burst up the left sideline the next series, and a 1-yard end zone punch, and the Cowboys had scored touchdowns on their first two offensive drives for the first time since October 2019. Rush said starting fast was an emphasis in practice this week. 

End-of-game and two-minute scenarios were, too. 

The Cowboys would need that. 

Despite carrying a 17-3 lead into halftime, Dallas went scoreless for 29-plus minutes of the second half. Dallas’ defense largely held up on a six-sack day that left Bengals star kicker Evan McPherson attempting and connecting on field goals from 43, 46 and 50. Still, a shaky offensive second half for the Cowboys gave the defense little room to breathe. The Bengals more than doubled the Cowboys’ time of possession after the half, Dallas’ longest drive a seven-play, three-minute series that ended unceremoniously in tight end Dalton Schultz fumbling. 

Then, with the game tied in the final two minutes, Dallas’ defense held off on first down. They held on second. Burrow found receiver Tyler Boyd in the flat on third-and-3. 

Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs found Boyd 2 yards short of the chains. 

“The hardest we’ve seen Diggs tackle,” Parsons said. “He shot out like a cannon. … Huge momentum.” 

Rush found Lamb down the left sideline for 8 yards. Then Brown, his most efficient target on the day, caught a 12-yard tipped ball up the middle. Lamb followed up with another 10-yard gain beneath two tacklers. 

Maher stepped up comfortably to finish the job. 

“We have the utmost confidence in his ability to lead us in the two-minute drive in the back end of the game,” Lamb said. “For him to come through again and come out victorious? That’s Cooper Rush for you.” 

Jerry Jones insisted Rush’s heroics won’t alter the timeline for Prescott’s return, Jones adding that benchmark hinges less on concern of reinjury than it does on confidence in throwing strength and ability to grip the ball. Surgery and a clean break indicated a realistic four-to-six-week timeline, per multiple reports. But the Cowboys declined to put Prescott on injured reserve, Jones insisting Prescott could return sooner. 

“This game has no bearing on that at all,” Jones said. “All it does is confirm we have good quarterbacks backing him up ... and take a lot of the angst out of it.” 

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The Cowboys next play at the Giants, against the Commanders, and at the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams. Beyond the four-game mark for Prescott awaits a Sunday night game in Philadelphia followed by home contests vs. the Lions and Bears. 

Surprising offensive contributors and opportunistic defensive linemen give the 1-1 Cowboys more breathing room. 

Parsons likened the team’s first 2022 win to a parable he heard in chapel Saturday. 

“The chapel man said, ‘You have to go through tests to get to your testimony,’” Parsons said from his postgame locker. “I heard that and was like, ‘Wow, we’re going through all these injuries. Sometimes you’ve got to go through stuff to get where you want to go.’ 

“We’re still going through the storm but as you go through the storm, there’s going to be light at the end of the tunnel. 

“I think that’s where we’re headed.”

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein.