There was one highlight of this game that you could not miss, and that was the performance of Quarterback Cooper Rush.
The seven-year NFL veteran had his best performance of the season, throwing for 292 yards, one touchdown, and avoiding an interception for the second week in a row. Rush filled up the stat sheet in this one.
He had the offense humming early, as Dallas had their highest-scoring first quarter of the year.
That initial 10-0 lead grew stronger in the second quarter, as Dallas put up 13 points with a pair of Brandon Aubrey field goals and Ezekiel Elliott’s 71st rushing touchdown as a Cowboy.
The common thread throughout these drives was Rush’s efficient passing, as he marched the Cowboys’ offense past the 50-yard line time and time again.
Rush has had his ups and downs this year, and he is clearly a backup-level quarterback, but you have to respect the effort he put forward in this Cowboys win.
Dallas saw the Buccaneers go 57 yards in six plays for a touchdown early in the second frame, but keeping the pressure on, the Cowboys came right back with another 10 points before the half.
A 26-yard pass from Mayfield to wideout Mike Evans was a big blow on Tampa Bay’s scoring drive, but running back Bucky Irving also rushed four times for 28 yards. The last two of those came on a dart around the right end for the score.
Dallas came right back with another three points from Aubrey, this time thanks to a 49-yard field goal. Then on their next series, the Cowboys drove 80 yards in nine plays to reach the goal line. Rush went deep to Lamb for a hefty 52-yard completion, and then two snaps later, Lamb took a short pass over the middle and gutted his way 11 more yards to the 1. Ezekiel Elliott got the honors, bullying his way off left tackle for the touchdown.
Unfortunately, with 1:40 left on the clock, that was enough time for Mayfield and company to tack on a score of their own. The Buccaneers quarterback completed 5 of 6 pass attempts for 67 yards, his 11-yard strike to Jalen McMillan accounting for the touchdown.
However, the 48 seconds remaining were enough for the Cowboys to get into Aubrey’s range. Rush had back-to-back passes of 21 and 14 yards to Jake Ferguson and Cooks, respectively, which eventually led to Dallas’ star kicker hitting another 58-yard field as time expired.
