Eagles will see a different Cooper Rush in critical Cowboys rematch

Eagles will see a different Cooper Rush in critical Cowboys rematch originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Last time the Eagles saw Cooper Rush, he was a mess.

In his first start after Dak Prescott suffered a season-ending torn hamstring, Rush managed only 45 passing yards in the Cowboys’ 34-6 loss to the Eagles at AT&T Stadium.

Rush completed 13 of 23 passes, but his average of just 1.96 yards per pass attempt stands as the 2nd-worst ever against the Eagles behind a 1.44 by another Cowboys quarterback, Anthony Wright back in 2001.

And his average of 3.46 yards per pass attempt is the lowest on record against the Eagles, breaking Wright’s “record” of 4.7 yards.

The Cowboys got a couple early field goals in that game but finished with 146 net yards, and by the time it was over Trey Lance had replaced the beleaguered Rush.

Things have changed.

In six games since that disaster vs. the Eagles, Rush is 4-2 with 10 touchdown passes, two interceptions and 248 passing yards per game. In his last five games, he’s thrown 163 passes and one interception with a 100.5 passer rating.

The Cowboys were eliminated from postseason contention when the Commanders beat the Eagles Sunday, but nonetheless they’re one of the hottest teams in the league, winning four of their last five games after a 3-7 start. Over the last five weeks, only the Chiefs and Vikings have a better record.

And it’s Rush and the Cowboys who are standing between the Eagles and their 11th division title in the last 24 years.

The Eagles and Cowboys meet at the Linc at 1 p.m. Sunday in a game with huge postseason implications for the Eagles and no implications for the Cowboys.

The Eagles will try to beat Rush for a third consecutive time this weekend after blowing a 13-point 4th-quarter lead against the Commanders this past Sunday.

Rush doesn’t have a dimension of athleticism like Jayden Daniels – he’s got 16 rushing yards all year – but he’s one of the NFL’s top passers on third down (103.9 passer rating the last five games), he’s got the 8th-most completions of 20 yards or more since Week 12 and he has the 4th-best interception ratio among all QBs who’ve thrown at least 200 passes (one INT every 93 passes).

He’s been playing at a high level since that first Eagles game, and the Eagles’ pass defense will have to bounce back in a big way to get the win they desperately need.

And Rush has had success by spreading the ball around during this hot streak. CeeDee Lamb of course has been his top target – he has 42-for-513 with two TDs just in these last six games – but return specialist and wide receiver KaVontae Turpin (10-170, 1), tight end Luke Schoonmaker (17-169, 1), receiver Jalen Tolbert (9-115, 3), tight end Jake Ferguson (12-105), receiver Brandin Cooks (10-101, 2) and running back Rico Dowdle (12-67) have all been a big part of a varied passing attack since the week after the Eagles game.

The Eagles dropped out of the No. 1 spot in pass defense after the Washington loss – they’ve now allowed eight more yards than the Titans – and after allowing five touchdown passes for Jayden Daniels, this is a huge game for the Eagles secondary.

The Eagles will clinch the NFC East and No. 2 seed with a win over the Cowboys (or Giants) and a Washington loss to the Falcons (or Cowboys).

They haven’t swept the Cowboys since 2011.

Rush is 9-4 in 13 career starts – 0-2 vs. the Eagles and 9-2 against everybody else.

In his two starts vs. the Eagles, he’s 31-for-61 (51 percent) for 113 yards per game with one TD, three INTs and a 44.8 passer rating.

In 11 career starts against every other team, he’s 226-for-363 (62 percent) for 256 yards per game and a 97.5 passer rating.

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