ARLINGTON, Texas — As the clock continues to tick down towards the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it’s become quite apparent that the Dallas Cowboys still have a dilemma at quarterback.
No, not with their starter Dak Prescott.
No matter what you have heard on social media lately, the team has no concerns about Prescott being ready to go versus the Buccaneers come Sept. 9.
He threw 52 passes before Saturday night’s 20-14 preseason loss to the Houston Texans as the team continues to ramp up his volume of throws in his continued recovery from a strained right shoulder that has kept him out practice since July 28.
“He hit the target from a number of throws,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “I thought he looked good. The most important thing is how he feels afterwards. But I thought he had another good day and the opportunity to go back to back is important.
“We will still continue to build up on the volume of throws.”
McCarthy said Prescott was scheduled to throw 46 to 50 snaps. That is what the team scripted.
When told that his quarterback had 52 attempts, he said “he went too much,” and then laughed.
What is not funny is the quarterback situation behind Prescott.
His absence has given the Cowboys an extended opportunity to analyze their backup options — a situation that first came into focus last season when the team’s franchise quarterback missed 11 games with a fractured ankle and has since resurfaced as a liability given Prescott’s current injury.
Former Texas and SMU product Garrett Gilbert has been the front runner for the No. 2 job for much of training camp, but his uninspiring play during the preseason has the team taking a closer look Cooper Rush, the third man on the depth chart.
And if not Rush, the situation may require looking at a quarterback on another roster.
The Cowboys have said repeatedly that they were comfortable Gilbert as the team’s primary backup, but after the Texans game, McCarthy wasn’t so sure about anything.
“We have one more week and we’re going to need it,” McCarthy said when asked if he was sure about Gilbert or Rush as the backup.
The Cowboys close the preseason against the Jacksonville Jaguars at AT&T Stadium on Aug. 29.
Gilbert has seemingly taken himself out of the running with his continued lackluster play for the Cowboys (0-3) this preseason, completing just 3-of-5 passes for 30 yards in two series of work.
It started off bad for Gilbert on just the second play of the game when he tripped coming from center and threw an incomplete pass. On third down, he held the ball too long, resulting in a sack-fumble. The play gave the Texans (2-0) the ball at the 23 and set up their first touchdown.
Gilbert completed three passes on the next series and led the Cowboys to two first downs, but the drive ended with a punt and that would be his night.
Rush got an opportunity to play with the first team offensive line and receivers and he made the most of it. He completed 10-of-12 passes for 92 yards and a two touchdowns., posting a quarterback rating of 139.9.
Rush got it done as soon as he took the field, directing a five-play, 75-yard scoring drive. He got the capper on an 8-yard pass to running back Tony Pollard.
The Cowboys followed with a 13-play, 85-yard scoring drive in the second quarter. A 9-yard pass to receiver Cedrick Wilson on third and goal put the Cowboys up 14-7 at halftime.
“I thought Cooper did a good job managing the game,” McCarthy said. “Kept us in clean plays, handled the checks and the alerts and led the team on two scoring drives.”
Gilbert has yet to lead the Cowboys to a touchdowns in considerably more action in the first three preseason games.
It wasn’t just the numbers that set Rush apart from Gilbert, it was his poise and decision making.
Gilbert does have the stronger arm, but Rush has a better feel for the offense and playing the position under offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, and that gives him the edge.
The Cowboys also know what they have in Rush, who was Prescott’s primary backup from 2017-19. He has one career completion and no starts.
The Cowboys let Rush go when they signed Andy Dalton as the backup last season, but they brought him back following Prescott’s ankle injury and then signed him to the practice squad.
But when it was time to find a starter following an injury the Dalton and abject play from rookie seventh-round pick Ben DiNucci, the Cowboys turned to Gilbert, even though he had only been with the team for two weeks and had no knowledge of the offense.
Gilbert’s impressive play on the fly, completing 21-of-38 passes for 243 yards with one touchdown and one interception in a narrow loss to the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers, allowed him to head into the offseason as the front runner for the backup job.
He has held that position until now, as Rush looks to be the more viable option of those players on the current roster.
The Cowboys are still evaluating quarterbacks on other teams, and could make a move after final cuts. What is certain is that it won’t be DiNucci, who continues to disappoint.
His three second-half interceptions against Texans proved to be the difference in the game Saturday night. Lonnie Johnson’s 53-yard interception return for a touchdown off a DiNucci attempt resulted in the Texans tying the game at 14 in the third quarter. And DiNucci killed any chances of a Cowboys comeback with two interception in the fourth quarter.
“We are getting down to crunch time,” McCarthy said, “and its time to start making some decisions.”
