Cooper Rush entered at quarterback in the fourth quarter of the Dallas Cowboys‘ matchup against the New York Giants, replacing Dak Prescott.
Dak Prescott Rests in Fourth Quarter After Leading Cowboys to Blowout Victory
Holding a 42-7 lead entering the fourth quarter, the Cowboys took out Prescott and put Rush in the game.
In the blowout win, Prescott completed 26 of 35 passes for 404 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. This tops his performance over the Los Angeles Rams, where he also sat out the fourth quarter in favor of Rush. It also set a franchise record with three games of at least 400 yards passing and four TDs.
This was the second time the Cowboys played against the Giants this season. They have defeated them by 72 points combined in the two meetings. When one reporter shared those numbers with Prescott during their postgame press conference, the Cowboys QB said what we were all thinking.
“I was about to say that’s gotta be a record,” Prescott said with a smile on his face.
A record indeed. One that has been in place since 1966, when the Cowboys beat their longtime rival by 55 points. Owner/general manager Jerry Jones also added that it was “unfathomable” to think the Cowboys have been that dominant against the Giants this year.
“Not something that we’re trying to make sure we do this,” Prescott said of the margin. “Obviously, we wanted to handle them for the second time this season. Just happened to be in that manner with that many points.
CeeDee Lamb Breaks His Own Record
CeeDee Lamb opened the scoring with a 14-yard rush. Prescott then hit tight end Jake Ferguson on a one-yard pass. Going up 28-0, Prescott found wide receiver Brandin Cooks and ran the ball into the end zone himself before the half.
Before leaving the game, Prescott found wide receivers Michael Gallup and Lamb for two more scores.
MORE: Dallas Cowboys Depth Chart
“Our quarterback is playing at a level that allows us to really do what Mike [McCarthy] wants to do, what [Brian] Schottenheimer wants to do,” Jones said postgame. “You’re seeing the result of a lot of practice, a lot of reps, seeing the result of a lot of guys figuring it out with each other.”
Lamb put up 11 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown, while Cooks hauled in nine catches for 173 yards and a touchdown. The connection between Prescott and Lamb was huge in the matchup as Prescott consistently found him open to move the chains.
With help from Dak, Lamb broke a record of his own as he became the first Cowboy receiver with at least 10 catches for a minimum of 150 yards in three consecutive games.
“We’re hitting our stride,” Lamb said. “I’m happy with it. This past month, as you can tell, we’ve been on a roll. We’ve just got to keep it going, stay consistent, stay clean, and let the rest fall into place.”
“He’s always in the zone,” Lamb added when talking about Prescott. “It’s just a matter of time before it comes into fruition. I’m happy for him, and we’re going to continue to do this for as long as we can.”
The Giants Continue To Flounder
The Giants struggled during the matchup, as QB Tommy DeVito completed 50% of his passes for 84 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
As bad as the Giants’ performance was, sideline fireworks actually seemed to steal most of the storyline in this one. Saquon Barkley was seen getting into an “animated” debate with head coach Brian Daboll, and in a separate altercation, WRs Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton seemed to exchange some intense words.
“That’s football,” Barkley said after the game. “That happens every week on every team. I don’t think that necessarily means a team is blowing up. It’s probably going to happen again. There were times last year where we would have that stuff come up [while winning], but there just wasn’t a way they could write a story about it. And now they can because we’re not doing too well.”
Dallas outgained the Giants 640-172 in the win. The Cowboys are now 6-3 as the Giants moved down to 2-8. Next week, the Cowboys will face the 1-8 Panthers.
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