Nothing worked with this ‘backup plan’

ARLINGTON, Texas – If he said it once, he said it 10 times in his press conference after the match.

Apparently, Micah Parsons really connected with the phrase “be the light” that was shared during one of the team’s pregame speeches. Basically, the reference was for everyone to take hold to offset other areas of darkness.

But whether it’s a light bulb, a tiki torch, a cigarette lighter, a bonfire, or the Olympic flame, all light eventually goes out.

In this case, the well lit defense that kept the Cowboys in the game ran out of gas. And when it did, it was like a wet grocery bag full of canned goods – the bottom quickly fell out and it was all over.

Yes, I give the defense credit for the way they played in the first half, but it still wasn’t good enough. The brightest lights couldn’t have helped carry this offense on Sunday. Of course, we knew it would be a struggle to play without Dak Prescott, but we’ve seen Cooper Rush succeed before. I know I wasn’t alone in having a little bit of faith that he could move the ball.

Man, we all got that one wrong. I guess in the past Cooper played on teams that could carry him a bit. Not just a strong defense on one side, but an offense that had more playmakers and definitely a more competent offensive line.

He got no help this day. And to be honest, he wasn’t helping himself either.

I’ve said many times before that I thought Rush was the deep ball passer on the team, just with his soft touch and ability to drop it in the basket. But we saw none of that on Sunday in the few attempts they tried to go deep.

Jalen Hurts had no problem connecting on his long passes, but you knew it was going to be a rough day if that pass didn’t work for the Rush. We already know that he will not take off on the run. Nor is he a passer-by on the move. But what has worked for him in the past is standing in the pocket, throwing the ball to the right spot and getting the ball out quickly, whether it’s downfield or through his reads.

Honestly, it looked like Cooper’s first career start, not his seventh. And again, I don’t put all the blame on him. The Cowboys haven’t done him any favors with his supporting cast.

Honestly, in the second quarter of the game, the Cowboys are only down 7-3 and they are driving. I looked at the huddle and maybe it’s because CeeDee Lamb was just now out of the game to play, but just scanning the players I see Rush, Asim Richards, Rico Dowdle, Jalen Brooks, Jalen Tolbert, Luke Schoonmaker and Cooper Beebe. Sure, guys like Zack Martin and Tyler Smith were on the field too, but the other guys came first.

And I thought to myself, This is similar to the second quarter of a preseason game. But it wasn’t – not at all. It’s the ninth game of the season and a game the Cowboys desperately needed to win to stay somewhat alive in a playoff race that has left this team in the dust.

But just looking at the guys on the field, it’s hard to believe that Cooper Rush or Trey Lance or any quarterback for that matter has a chance to compete.

Some of this comes down to injuries, but also just not having backups ready enough to compete at this level.

And this is one of the drawbacks of the “running back by committee” approach. When your franchise quarterback goes down, there’s really nothing to lean on, especially when you’re asking an offensive line to learn on the fly with young players. Add to that the fact that Lamb doesn’t have much help in the receiving corps, and it’s probably not shocking that this team once again couldn’t get more than two field goals.

Of course, they had chances to get more than that. Ezekiel Elliott picked the worst time to get his first career fumble in the red zone, resulting in a touchback. And then on the next possession, they get a gift – delivered by Parsons – and still can’t score from the 6-yard line.

I love how everyone wants to blame the sun or the lack of curtains, but no one asked the Cowboys to call a pass right there. The field is 53 yards wide – find another spot. Still, they have to overcome all obstacles and figure out how to score when you get a fumble inside the 10-yard line.

But the reality of it all – that play or even a handful of others – wouldn’t have changed the outcome in this one. The Eagles may have started slowly, but when you stretch a game out to four quarters and 60 minutes, we saw two big differences. One team is full of playmakers in the offensive, and the other barely has more than one.

You can’t win games like that, no matter who the quarterback is.