Monday Night Football: Cooper Rush makes magic happen for the Cowboys yet again, hands Giants their first loss of 2022
Welcome to the 2022 NFL season; where the Dallas Cowboys win on a weekly basis despite Dak Prescott being sidelined with injury, and the New York Giants entering Monday Night Football as one-of-three teams yet to lose a game.
The start of the year has been anything but expected.
On Monday night, the two NFC East teams met up to see what could keep their undefeated streak going; the Giants with hopes of starting 3-0 for the first time since the '09 season, and Cooper Rush aspiring to keep his perfect record as a starter.
After four quarters of football, a winner was crowned. Cooper Rush, who spent the '20 offseason as a member of the Giants prior to being a cut victim, got his revenge by ending New York's perfect start to the season - and preserving his own undefeated record as a starting quarterback.
Here's what Monday's contest taught us.
Takeaways from the Dallas Cowboys' win on Monday Night Football
Cooper Rush is.. 'him?'
The Dallas Cowboys are without starting quarterback Dak Prescott, but that hasn't stopped the W train from leaving the station.
As the starting quarterback in the NFL, Cooper Rush has logged a 3-0 record. All three of his wins have come within the past year, keeping Dallas afloat when the team finds themselves without Prescott.
His quantity of wins is all that eye-popping - after all, Rush doesn't even have enough wins to fill up a month of football - but the quality is unreal.
Rush is straight up playing to win. All three of the 28-year-old quarterback's victories have been fourth-quarter comebacks, proving you can put the football in his hands when it matters most.
Entering Monday night's duel, Rush held the second-fastest snap-to-throw time league-wide with a phenomenal mark of 2.32 seconds per play. The undrafted free agent in 2017 may just be 'him'.
The Giants lost, but Daboll is undoubtedly turning things around
Following a 4-13 season in 2021, the New York Giants thought it best to move on from (former) head coach Joe Judge after two cracks. His replacement was former Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who has greatly elevated the G-men already.
After only three weeks, the Giants have half the wins they totaled throughout the entirety of the '21 season.
This puts them on pace for roughly 11 wins. While many will argue it isn't likely New York will continue at this pace, it's much better than the 0-3 start the Giants began both seasons with under Joe Judge.
Daboll is bringing out the best in Daniel Jones, and that shouldn't come as a surprise. Jones, despite being an entire universe away from Josh Allen, is the same quarterback build; a mobile playmaker who, believe it or not, excels when tossing the ball downfield.
The second half of that last statement will probably surprise a great deal of fans, but that's the truth. In 2020, NFL Network went as far as ranking Daniel Jones as the best deep-ball passer league-wide.
Daboll has had a ton of success with Josh Allen in Buffalo, and in the early portion of the '22 season, he's replicated that success with Daniel Jones.
Kenny Golladay continues to prove his contract is bad. Historically bad
In 2021, wideout Kenny Golladay shook the free agent market up when he signed a four-year, $72 million deal with the New York Giants.
That contract isn't just 'bad'. It's historically bad.
Since becoming a Giant, Golladay has totaled a yard mark south of 600 with a goose egg in the touchdown column. The 28-year-old has been such a disappointment that head coach Brian Daboll threw only two snaps Golladay's way last week, and Monday night wasn't much different.
Golladay's stat line against the Cowboys: 0 catches, 0 yards. He did do something, though. He logged a crucial drop in the fourth-quarter with the Giants trailing by one score.
Kenny Golladay: "I came here to play"
Also, Kenny Golladay:
https://t.co/Rt4xSxzskU
And that wasn't his only drop, either.
Not only has Golladay been the epitome of disappointment since coming to New York, but the offense Brian Daboll is trying to field doesn't mesh well with the type of player Golladay is.
This offense is quick, built for big plays and effectiveness when the pocket collapses. Golladay is a possession receiver who's at his best when he's forced to feed the ball. It's time to move on; it'll benefit both sides at this point.