The Los Angeles Rams won’t be scared to bring the pressure against the Dallas Cowboys and quarterback Cooper Rush.
Rush is 3-0 as the starter in Dallas this season and has done well when pressured by the opposition. He’s completing 75% of his passes when facing pressure, passing for 259 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, per Pro Football Focus.
Rams linebacker Bobby Wagner says that won’t deter his squad from bringing the blitz in an effort to get to Rush.
“Just because a guy has been good against the blitz so far doesn’t mean he’ll be good on Sunday,” Wagner told reporters on Wednesday. “We do our blitzes different and things of that nature. He’s done a really good job picking up where the blitz is coming from. He’s an older guy, he’s been in the league a little bit so he can recognize some of those blitzes. You never want to stay away from running those things. You just be smart when you use them and how you use them.”
That’s not to say Wagner hasn’t been impressed by Rush, who has stepped into a tough situation and excelled, keeping the Cowboys’ season afloat.
“They are doing a good job in the run game, I think they’re taking pressure off him and the pass game. He’s making a lot of great throws and doing what he needs to do to win the game,” Wagner said. “It’s a guy we definitely have to respect [Rush] and understand what the game means. But if we come out and do our job, we’ll be fine.”
There was a hope that Dak Prescott could return this week following thumb surgery but it sounds unlikely, per owner Jerry Jones, who said during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday that the two-time Pro Bowler is “not well enough to play.” However, Prescott is making progress.
“I don’t know that you could ask for better news technically, physically in how it’s responding, how it’s healing so to speak,” Jones said. “So all of those things are on go and I don’t know that as we bid bye to each day if considering the injury, considering the location of the injury, I don’t know that you could make any more progress. There’s some things here about healing that again I often say only the man upstairs knows how that works, but he’ll have a big week and he’ll be hard on himself getting it ready to go.”
There’s been a semblance of a quarterback controversy in Dallas with the Cowboys reeling off wins with Rush under center. Jones started the talk with some comments about welcoming a controversy in September but has been more realistic of late.
“No, as I see it right today,” Jones said when asked of the possibility of Rush starting once Prescott is healthy.
However, Jones has jumped at the opportunity to heap praise on Rush and is thankful to have the 28-year-old QB keeping the team afloat.
“I can’t say enough about his play,” Jones said after the Cowboys’ 25-10 win against the Commanders. “What it has possibly done for this team this season to give us a chance to sit here after these last three ball games and maybe have the opportunity we’ve got for the rest of the year. It’s amazing. It’s far more than what I would’ve expected.”
Dallas is a 5.5-point road underdog against the Rams for Sunday’s matchup.
