Unbeaten Cooper Rush will likely be under center Sunday night when his Dallas Cowboys visit the unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush is 4-0 as the starter since Dak Prescott broke a bone in his throwing thumb in the season opener. Prescott is not expected to be ready for the primetime NFC East showdown between the Cowboys (4-1) and Eagles (5-0).
“We are preparing for Cooper to start against the Eagles,” Dallas coach Mike McCarthy said Wednesday. “We’ve got to trust the medical process (with Prescott). It’s a 17-game season. We’ve got to make sure he’s right for the long haul, too.”
Prescott’s will-he-won’t-he-play situation has created something of a controversy for Dallas, at least on talk radio and social media and whatever world Skip Bayless lives in.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott scoffed at the notion of a controversy following last Sunday’s 22-10 road win against the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams.
“We’re the Cowboys,” Elliott said. “People always have something to say about us. F— em. All we care about is what’s in this locker room, what’s in this building.”
The last time he played in Philly, Prescott fired a career-high five touchdown passes in a 51-26 blowout. That gave him 37 for the season, breaking Tony Romo’s 2007 franchise record of 36.
Of course, the Eagles rested quarterback Jalen Hurts and other key starters in that Week 18 contest last January to prepare for a wild-card game.
Hurts has emerged as an early MVP candidate in his third season, passing for 1,359 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for 266 yards and six scores.
Hurts is 1-2 against Dallas with five turnovers (four interceptions, one lost fumble) and three TD passes. The Eagles rank No. 2 in the NFL in total offense (419.8 yards per game) and No. 4 in rushing (160.0).
The Eagles overcame a 14-0 hole to beat Jacksonville in Week 4 and survived a last-second missed field goal in last Sunday’s 20-17 win at Arizona, but Hurts will face his toughest test to date with the Dallas defense.
The Cowboys are No. 3 in the NFL in scoring defense (14.4 points per game), allowing fewer than 20 points in each of their first five games for the first time since 1972. Their 20 sacks — 6.0 by star linebacker Micah Parsons — are the fourth most by any team through five games since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger.
“(Parsons will) be accounted for every single play,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “That doesn’t mean he’s not going to make some plays here and there. He’s a really outstanding, outstanding player. I think we all know that. The league knows that. He’s proved it for the last year and a half.”
Parsons (groin) did not practice for Dallas on Wednesday and fellow pass-rusher DeMarcus Lawrence (chest) was limited, as were former Eagles tackle Jason Peters (chest) and tight end Dalton Schultz (knee).
For Philadelphia, cornerback Josh Jobe (shoulder) did not practice on Wednesday and four offensive linemen were limited: center Jason Kelce (ankle), tackle Jordan Mailata (shoulder) and guards Isaac Seumalo (ankle) and Landon Dickerson (ankle).
The New York Giants are also 4-1 in the NFC East. Including the Washington Commanders’ lone win, the division enters Week 6 with the most combined victories (14) in the NFL (the AFC East is second with 12).
–Field Level Media
