NFC Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Washington

Cowboys

Cowboys QB Cooper Rush had a clean game on Saturday against the Texans, finishing 10-12 for 97 yards, two touchdowns, and a 139.9 passer rating. 

“I thought Cooper did a really good job managing the game,” Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy said, via The Athletic. “Kept us in clean plays, handled the checks and alerts very well, and obviously led the team on two drives. So I thought Cooper had a nice quarter and a half of work.”

Rush might have set himself apart in the competition for the No. 2 quarterback job. Cowboys QB Garrett Gilbert didn’t do much on Saturday to help his stock, as he got his feet tangled with OG Zack Martin on his first drop-back and later waited too long to throw and allowed a strip-sack by Texans DE Jacob Martin.

“We wanted to give (Rush and Gilbert) more of a balanced opportunity,” McCarthy said, “and Garrett’s had more opportunities (compared) to Cooper going into the game, so the goal was to give Cooper a little more here. Garrett had the turnover and didn’t have the conversion on the second series, so it was obviously not his best night.”

McCarthy also pointed out that QB Ben DiNucci needed to have a better performance on Saturday where he threw three interceptions, the first resulting in a pick-six.

“I think no one is more disappointed than he is,” McCarthy said. “He knows the opportunity that he had this evening and I think he did a good job using his feet, and he needs to use his feet more. He’s an excellent athlete. At the end of the day, turnovers are a huge part of being successful in this league. You have to take care of the ball. With that, we’ll evaluate the decisions, the throws, but he needs to play much better than that.”

Fourth-round LB Jabril Cox has also begun to carve out a role on the Cowboys defensive unit, although McCarthy said he needs to see more out of Cox, particularly on special teams.

“I think he’s kind of on a normal plane for a young guy,” McCarthy said. “He picks it up really clean. His introduction to pro football was a little bumpy, with the Hall of Fame Game when we first got in there, and I thought he responded very well. I think he’s definitely done that the last two weeks. He made a really good play out in space (Saturday night) and definitely you could see his range and his instincts, his awareness. I think he’s doing a nice job. He needs to do more on special teams, obviously that’s where the young guys make their first impact.”

• Cowboys OC Kellen Moore said Dak Prescott (shoulder) has no throwing limitations: “I thought he looked great (yesterday). We’re fired up. We’re not looking at anything from a limitation standpoint.” (Jon Machota)