Cooper Rush Versus Dak Prescott: Who’s Better?
One explosive debate between Dallas Cowboys fans has been whether the team should stick with Cooper Rush at quarterback or let Dak Prescott have his job back. Both quarterbacks have their strengths and weaknesses, but who is better can be broken down in so many ways.
There are different components that will need to be broken down when looking at which quarterback does something better. Fans need to base this on the eye test and how the offense looks with Cooper Rush and with Dak Prescott. Statistics will always have to play a part in how the team looks. Even their winning percentage and their record will play a critical role.
A debate like this may not have a clear conclusion since Rush has only started four games. Prescott has been the starter since 2016 so he has years of experience over Rush on the field. The only thing we have to work off of is the limited games that Rush has played so it could end up being a toss-up between the two.
Where Cooper Rush And Dak Prescott Are Even
The reality between Cooper Rush and Dak Prescott is both quarterbacks are similar in style of play. Prescott might have a slight advantage when it comes to mobility, but both quarterbacks are steady pocket-type quarterbacks. They both can use their legs if they need to, but Prescott has shown that he is more willing to run for it than Rush does.
Both quarterbacks proved that they are winners. Rush is 4-0 as the starting quarterback of the team dating back to last season. Prescott is 53-33 in his career as the starter. It’s hard to determine who has a winning mentality between the two because both have shown they win games so they both get a check mark on that.
Where Cooper Rush Wins
This might be tough to determine, but it is hard to ignore the fact that Cooper Rush has thrown one interception just once in his NFL career. Prescott, on the other hand, has 51 career interceptions. Rush has proven to protect the football better than Prescott does. A big reason for that is Rush is more like to throw short to intermediate passes that are high percentage completion. Prescott is more likely to take a chance and throw it in the hopes his receivers catch it.
Rush has an extremely quick release of the football as his bread and butter is short, quick passes like slants to get the ball out of his hands. Prescott will hold on to the football longer and might be most likely to run for it or go deep with it. This leads to fewer sacks from Cooper Rush and more quarterback hits for Prescott.
Where Dak Prescott Wins
There is a misconception that Rush is a more accurate quarterback than Prescott which could not be further from the truth. It might have been the case in their 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but overall Prescott is the more accurate quarterback. Rush has completed just 61.2 percent of his passes while Prescott has completed 66.4 percent of his passes. Hate to burst the bubble of Cowboys fans, but Prescott wins in this category.
While fans have seen Rush take more shots down the field, especially during last week’s 25-10 win over the Washington Commanders, Prescott has the advantage on the deep ball. He can place the deep balls in better spots than Rush can. Prior to last week, Rush was more hesitant on throwing the ball deep as Prescott will take those shots which presents more rewards than going with the safe five to ten-yard completion.
This is another tough one to discuss since Cooper Rush hasn’t played as much, but Prescott must be favored in experience. Prescott has been in plenty of different situations that have resulted in him overcoming adversity to win games. He’s proven that he can win with a winning percentage of 61. Not to mention the fact that he has taken the Cowboys to the playoffs three times which is a plus.
Conclusion
This isn’t the article that is going to definitively determine who is truly the better quarterback. Truth be told, both have the qualities that make them good. At the end of the day, it’s a matter of figuring out whether fans want to go with the reliable quarterback they know or go with the hot-hand quarterback who hasn’t lost.
Regardless, as Jerry Jones said a couple of weeks ago, a quarterback controversy isn’t the worst thing to have. At least the Cowboys have two quarterbacks they can lean on to win games where some NFL teams don’t even have one quarterback. Who knows how this will all end, but it’s very clear from how Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has spoken that he intends for Prescott to take over once he is healthy.
This will be a topic that will continue for weeks and possibly the rest of the season. Once Prescott loses a game, everyone will be calling for Cooper Rush to jump back in. No matter what happens, fans should feel encouraged that no matter what, they are covered at the quarterback position to win many games.