Dallas Cowboys

Is Cowboys' Dak Prescott feeling the pressure from Cooper Rush?

Updated Oct. 10, 2022 4:27 p.m. ET

Dak Prescott spoke candidly about the state of his team and what's next for him after the Dallas Cowboys’ 22-10 win over the reigning champion Los Angeles Rams on Sunday — and his comments are turning some heads.

"Honestly, just knowing this team can win in a multitude of ways — whether it’s the run game, the defense," Prescott said. "Obviously, we all know what we can do when we’re healthy in the pass game. It’s exciting as hell. Coach (Mike McCarthy) has the mantra 'resiliency’ for this team, and if you turn on the tape, you can see it game in and game out."

Prescott has been sidelined since the Cowboys' season-opening loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Dallas' only loss so far this season — in which he suffered a broken thumb that required surgery.

Backup quarterback Cooper Rush took over from there and has guided the Cowboys to four consecutive victories, which is why Skip Bayless think Prescott's comments were uncalled-for.

"Dak Prescott took a shot at Cooper Rush — unwarranted, though predictable," Bayless said on Monday's "Undisputed." "I think he's saying, ‘When I get back, we’re gonna take it up a bunch.' … I believe that Dak has become extremely threatened by Cooper Rush because Cooper didn't just keep his seat warm, he turned it into a hot seat for Dak Prescott."

Should Cowboys go back to Prescott despite Rush's success?

Skip Bayless decides whether Dallas should stick with Cooper Rush or not.

"He wants everybody to know, ‘I’m ready to go. I want my team back,'" Bayless added. "[Prescott] just goes off about how excited he is because he wants to remind everybody that, ‘This is my team. It’s about to be my time, and now we can get serious about this thing, and we can really start scoring some points.' I don't appreciate the shot at Cooper Rush because … it's beneath Dak to have to do that, but that's where he [has] been pushed by Cooper Rush's magic run.

"Nobody in the history of this league had won his first four starts with a 90-plus passer rating, and Cooper Rush did that, and now I think Dak is wearing on this sleeve just how threatened he is by Cooper Rush."

That said, has Dallas discovered the winning formula without Prescott?

Maybe so, but the Cowboys will be hard-pressed to choose Rush over their $160 million-dollar man.

Going back to Prescott is the smart move, according to Shannon Sharpe, but he isn't convinced the organization will follow suit.

"It is time (to go back to Prescott, if he's healthy), but do I believe [that] they're going to go back? I do not," Sharpe said. "I believe Jerry Jones is very enamored with Cooper Rush. [Jones] has never really fully bought in to Dak Prescott, and this is his one opportunity (to change it) because they're winning football games."

Rush was signed by the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He had a short stint on the New York Giants' practice squad in 2020 before returning to Dallas shortly after. He is currently 5-0 as a starter. Rush previously started in Week 8 of last season after Prescott was sidelined with a calf injury.