Cooper Rush rallies to win third straight profession begin as Dallas Cowboys hand New York Giants first loss – ESPN

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Filling in for an injured Dak Prescott and making consecutive begins for the primary time in his profession, Cooper Rush led the Dallas Cowboys to a 23-16 win towards the New York Giants on Monday. He was assisted by a fierce cross rush that sacked QB Daniel Jones 5 instances and pressured him 24 instances.

Dallas Cowboys

When the Cowboys wanted Rush essentially the most within the second half, he was at his greatest. After the Giants took a 13-6 lead within the third quarter, Rush accomplished 12 of his subsequent 13 passes for 129 yards in main back-to-back landing drives. The primary drive ended with Ezekiel Elliott scoring a landing towards New York for the fifth straight sport to tie it.

The second ended with Rush throwing an ideal fade to the nook of the tip zone, the place receiver CeeDee Lamb made a one-handed seize with 8:30 to play. Earlier within the drive, Rush and Lamb transformed a key fourth-and-4 after which related for a 26-yarder to the Giants’ 1-yard line.

Rush’s closing numbers weren’t staggering — 21-of-31 for 215 yards and a landing — however they had been adequate to win. Rush is simply the third Cowboys quarterback to win his first three profession begins. The opposite two? Jason Garrett, his former head coach, and Corridor of Famer Roger Staubach. And all three wins have include game-winning drives within the fourth quarter and extra time, making him simply the second quarterback to take action within the Tremendous Bowl period (Virgil Carter).

Promising pattern: The Cowboys have 13 sacks in three video games, which leads the NFL. They pestered Daniel Jones all through Monday’s sport. All people is aware of about Micah Parsons. DeMarcus Lawrence made his presence felt towards the Giants with the third three-sack sport of his profession earlier than struggling a left foot harm. The 13 sacks have come from six defenders. The Cowboys have a diversified cross rush that may keep contemporary throughout a sport, which is able to have the ability to drain an offensive line.

Eye-popping Subsequent Gen stat: Lamb was smiling afterward, however a second-quarter drop needed to be killing him. If he had held on to the Rush cross on a deep over, he might need scored. As an alternative he grew to become the primary participant to drop a wide-open goal at the very least 30 yards down the sphere this season. He had 6 yards of separation, which made it the fourth drop of its sort since 2020, per NFL Subsequent Gen Stats. However on the go-ahead drive within the fourth quarter, Lamb was stellar, changing a fourth-down cross, choosing up 26 yards after which making the one-handed TD seize that had fellow No. 88 Dez Bryant fired up in one of many MetLife Stadium suites. — Todd Archer

Underrated statistic to know: Ezekiel Elliott is the primary participant in Cowboys historical past to have a dashing landing in 5 straight video games towards the Giants.

Subsequent sport: vs. Commanders (1 p.m. ET, Oct. 2)

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New York Giants

This was the blueprint the Giants had utilized in profitable the earlier two weeks: Hold the sport low-scoring, make sufficient offensive performs within the second half and squeak out a victory.

Solely this time Wink Martindale’s protection didn’t maintain up fairly as nicely. The Giants (2-1) fell from the ranks of the unbeaten. Now, solely the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins stay undefeated. Nonetheless, New York stays in respectable form with the Chicago Bears on deck subsequent week at MetLife Stadium.

QB breakdown: Jones really performed fairly nicely, though his numbers weren’t all that spectacular. He completed 20-of-37 passing for 196 yards with no touchdowns and one interception on the ultimate drive after large receiver David Sills slipped.

The Giants’ greatest offensive possibility a lot of the sport was Jones’ legs. Jones had seven rushes for first downs on Monday evening, essentially the most by a quarterback this season. Underneath relentless stress, he rushed 9 instances for 79 yards within the contest. He got here into Monday evening with 16 rushes for 46 yards. To place this in perspective, Jones is on tempo for 142 dashing makes an attempt this season. Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts led all quarterbacks with 139 dashing makes an attempt final 12 months.

Troubling pattern: The Giants have not scored a landing within the first half this season. Three video games, 9 factors within the first half for the Giants. Coach Brian Daboll mentioned final week that they’re continuously making tweaks. However regardless of the Giants did this week nonetheless did not work. The halftime changes, nonetheless, have been commendable. New York has scored 46 factors within the second half of its three video games. — Jordan Raanan

Underrated statistic to know: Jones was pressured on 24 dropbacks, operating for his life the whole night. It was essentially the most pressures in his four-year profession, essentially the most on a quarterback this season and the second most over the previous two seasons. Rookie proper sort out Evan Neal had a troublesome sport in cross safety. Neal was crushed by Lawrence for 3 sacks alone and dedicated a key false begin on the sport’s closing drive.

Subsequent sport: vs. Bears (1 p.m. ET, Oct. 2)