Shannon Sharpe pours cold water over Cowboys backup QB hype: "Winning has masked just how poorly Cooper Rush has played"
Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe has cooled down the hype about Cooper Rush and his sensational four-game winning streak. The 28-year-old took over from Dak Prescott after the former Mississippi State quarterback suffered a thumb injury in Week 1.
Since the backup took over, Dallas Cowboys are 4-0 and have a chance to finish Week 6 at the top of the NFC East and the NFC, if they defeat the Philadelphia Eagles. However, Sharpe isn't sold on Rush as the Cowboys starter, despite his 4-0 record this season.
Sharpe was speaking on Fox Sports' Undisputed and said that he doesn't believe that the backup quarterback can put up the kind of points needed to defeat the Eagles. He pointed to Rush's poor third and fourth-down coversion this season as the reason why Dallas will lose on Sunday night.
Sharpe said:
“Skip, this is the Cowboys, one of the worst third down teams in the league. They’re 29th, 31 percent conversion rate, only 27 percent of Rush’s third and fourth down attempts have moved the chains. That’s the fourth lowest among the 100 quarterbacks with 100 plus attempts.
“So in other words, what is happening, is that winning has masked just how poorly Cooper Rush has played. With that being said, I just believe if the Eagles can get to 24 (points), which I believe they can in this game because they are at home and the crowd noise will be on their side and not against them, I believe they can get to 24 and I don’t believe Cooper Rush can get to that number.”
Can Cooper Rush slay the undefeated Eagles?
If you're Shannon Sharpe, then no. But most Cowboys fans are coy on their team's chances in enemy territory. It is no secret that the Dallas defense is again going to have to play their tails off to curtail Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense.
Cooper Rush has been helped by his running game thanks to Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, but the real star has been the defense. If Dallas is to have a serious shot at winning this game with Rush at quarterback, they will have to do something no other team has done - Keep the Eagles to under 20 points.
What happens if Cooper Rush beats the Eagles?
"This is as good a vibe as Dallas has had in five years." — @ColinCowherd https://t.co/paFYYUp4hb
The Cardinals managed to keep the Eagles to 20, but only scored 17 themselves. If Rush is to take his record to 5-0 this season, he is going to have to start making more plays with his arms. Easier said than done against this superb Eagles defense.
A superb showdown awaits us on Sunday night.
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