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The Dallas Cowboys pulled off an exhilarating upset in opposition to the Minnesota Vikings on “Sunday Evening Soccer,” they usually did it with out their beginning quarterback. After retaining everybody in suspense all week lengthy, the Cowboys dominated out Dak Prescott shortly earlier than game-time, and as an alternative rolled with backup Cooper Rush below middle. And Rush had himself a heck of a sport.
Rush accomplished 24 of 40 passes for 325 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in opposition to a Vikings workforce that entered the sport ranked third in go protection effectivity, per Soccer Outsiders’ DVOA. Rush made a number of enormous performs all through the night, however the largest of all of them got here on his workforce’s last drive of the night time.
With the Cowboys trailing 16-13, Rush took over from his personal 25-yard line with 2:51 remaining within the fourth quarter. After an incomplete go on first down, Rush let one rip down the best sideline to Amari Cooper. And let’s be sincere right here … he received fairly fortunate. The ball bounced off Vikings defensive again Bashaud Breeland’s arms and chest, then off Cooper’s arms, earlier than Cooper finally hauled it in for a 33-yard acquire.
Rush calmed himself down, although, and continued shifting the Cowboys down the sphere. Even after a holding penalty set his workforce again with a third-and-11 at Minnesota’s 20-yard line, Rush received the ball into the arms of Ezekiel Elliott — who made an unimaginable particular person effort to choose up a key first down, setting the Cowboys up on the 5-yard line.
And that is when Cooper Rush and Amari Cooper did one thing that had by no means been achieved earlier than in NFL historical past.
Rush’s landing go to Cooper, which ended up being the game-winner, was the first landing go within the historical past of the league the place the passer’s first identify and the receiver’s final identify, had been the very same identify, based on the NFL’s analysis division. Cooper to Cooper. By no means occurred earlier than.
Extremely, the Cowboys are additionally the one workforce to throw a landing go the place the quarterback’s final identify and the receiver’s first identify, had been the very same identify. Andy Dalton threw a landing go to Dalton Schultz final season — in a sport that was additionally performed in opposition to the Vikings. That go was additionally a game-winner, because it put the Cowboys forward 31-28 simply contained in the two-minute warning.
The NFL has been round in some type or style since 1920, and this has solely occurred twice — every of the final two years, with the identical two groups, and with 4 totally different gamers, however with every play having the identical end result. That is simply unimaginable stuff.
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