The Dallas Cowboys say they believe in Cooper Rush, but should they?

The sky isn't falling just yet in Dallas, but the Cowboys are 0-1, looked terrible in their loss, and Dak Prescott is about to miss significant time after undergoing surgery on his hand.

If there was ever a time for a "Not great, Bob" this would be it.

Don't tell that to the Cowboys, though. Tight end Dalton Schultz says the team is going to be running into the storm, not away from it. 

And as far as their quarterback concerns? 

Executive vice president Stephen Jones said that Dallas is going to keep all options open, but the Cowboys feel comfortable about backup quarterback Cooper Rush.

“Cooper stepped in and did a great job for us last year when Dak had to sit out a game," Jones said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas (h/t The Athletic). "He knows the system."

Ezekiel Elliott seemed to echo Jones' thoughts on Rush.

“We’ve got plenty of confidence in Coop,” Elliott said. “Last year he came in and we didn’t miss much of a beat.”

The "last year" both Jones and Elliott are referencing was when Rush filled in for Prescott in 2021 for a game. He's been a career backup since going undrafted out of Central Michigan in 2017 but was thrust into the starting role against the Minnesota Vikings last season with Prescott nursing a calf strain. 

In a 20-16 Dallas win, Rush completed 24-of-40 passes for 325 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. While it was certainly a great win for Rush and the Cowboys and it looks great on a resume as a backup, keep in mind that 122 of Rush's yards were to Amari Cooper, who's now with the Cleveland Browns. The Vikings were also being coached by a proverbial dead man walking in Mike Zimmer, who was fired at the end of the season.

Outside of that Minnesota game, Rush has no experience as a starting NFL quarterback. Sure, he's spent a ton of time in Dallas and working as the understudy to Prescott, but there's a big difference between winning a spot start compared to shouldering a significant chunk of the season for Dallas. Prescott is expected to miss multiple weeks as he recovers from his hand injury. We don't know how long "multiple weeks" means, but it's worth noting that Dallas has a very real chance of starting the season 0-2 with Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals up next on the schedule.

The Cowboys are saying the right things because they have to. Otherwise, there's little reason to believe that Rush can turn this thing around over multiple weeks.