The Dallas Cowboys couldn’t do much worse than their 34-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 10. Yet, amazingly, the 28-point defeat isn’t even the Cowboys’ worst loss of the season. That effort came in a 47-9 blowout loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 6 when Dak Prescott was still healthy.
But now the Cowboys’ franchise quarterback has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury that requires surgery. On Sunday, the Cowboys turned to eight-year veteran Cooper Rush to replace Prescott in the starting lineup.
That plan backfired, with Rush tallying just 45 passing yards on 23 attempts. He also fumbled twice. So it wasn’t a surprise to see the team turn to Trey Lance, who was rumored to have a strong involvement in last week’s gameplan. But which quarterback will the Cowboys turn to next Monday against the Houston Texans?
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Dallas Cowboys could start Trey Lance over Cooper Rush in Week 11
Cooper Rush didn’t impress in his first start of the season. Former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance didn’t get a chance to do much, but he completed 4-of-6 passes for just 21 yards. He also threw an interception. Yet, Lance did show his versatility by adding 17 rushing yards on three attempts, leading to two first downs.
The mixed performance from both quarterbacks led to coach Mike McCarthy facing questions about his plans for Week 11. According to the Cowboys coach, it sounds like Lance at least has an outside chance to play more next week, but McCarthy needs to mull it over for a bit longer.
“We’re not there yet. I mean, we had a package for him. We wanted to get him into the flow of the game was the thought process coming in here. Then to get him in when we did, then I took him out on the third down. I just believe in reps. I mean that third down segment there, not that he couldn’t run the plays, I just didn’t want to put him in there [for] something that he hadn’t had a lot of reps in. I put Cooper back in for that play, for third down, we had the fumble, the turnover there. Something I’ll obviously discuss tomorrow.”
Mike McCarthy on potential Dallas Cowboys QB change
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McCarthy’s press conference took place on Sunday night after the Cowboys’ loss. So, based on his comments, he plans to discuss the Cowboys’ quarterback situation at some point today. But will Dallas be so quick to pull the plug on their longtime backup in favor of the inexperienced Lance, who’s only ever started four games in the NFL?