Dallas Cowboys Notebook #CINvsDAL | Week 2

Washington "Moving Forward"

Quiet as it's kept, James Washington is progressing well in his recovery from a fractured foot suffered in training camp. The veteran receiver made an appearance at Cowboys practice on Wednesday - doing rehab work off to the side on resistance bands - with no visible aid on his surgically-repaired foot.

"He's moving forward," said head coach Mike McCarthy on Thursday.

McCarthy went on to note the plan is for Washington to continue testing the foot with a bit more of a workload each day and then gauging how it responds as he approaches his eventual debut for the Cowboys in the future.

He remains on injured reserve for now, unable to return until Week 5 at the earliest, and would be a welcome addition for a Cowboys receiving group that floundered out of the gate but could soon see Washington join a nearly-ready Michael Gallup on the field with Cooper Rush and eventually Dak Prescott.

-Patrik Walker

Help From Friends

When the game kicks off Sunday and the Cowboys offense takes the field for the first time, Cooper Rush understands the entire AT&T Stadium will probably be looking at him. As he replaces Dak Prescott, he knows he's the one looked upon to win this game.

But at the same time, he says he'll be looking at his teammates in the same way.

While Rush is 1-0 as a starter, Sunday's game will be his second career start. But even like he did last year in Minnesota, Rush says he'll be counting on the guys around him to do their part.

"When you have teammates like we do – we have a heck of a defense and a ton of playmakers, you tell yourself you're playing with special players," Rush said on Thursday. "You have to trust them and do your job. If you do your job, everything should be alright."

A year ago, Rush was able to do his job, eventually leading the Cowboys to a 20-16 win over the Vikings on the road.

And while the circumstances seem different this time around, Rush said the emotions feel the same.

"Not that different. You're still excited," Rush said. "Every time you get the opportunity, you have to make the most of it. It comes back to your preparation. You get thrown in at the moment's notice. The reps you get with the 2s and 3s, it all matters. It prepares for moments like this."

-Rob Phillips

Every Snap

Not only did Micah Parsons lead the Cowboys with two sacks against the Bucs, he played all 62 defensive snaps last Sunday night.

Going forward, he believes he can maintain that workload.

"That's something I want. I'm putting that chip on my shoulder," he said. "No one else is making me do this. I want to do this for this team. … I told Coach I don't want to come off. They asked me if I'm good. I told them I'm good. Obviously I'm sore, but that comes with this game. I just love what I do."

-Rob Phillips (9/14/22)

Answer The Bell

Markquese Bell is ready for whatever the Cowboys throw at him. 

After impressing during training camp and the preseason, the undrafted free agent could see playing time this Sunday with safety Jayron Kearse ruled out for this Sunday's game against the Bengals with a knee injury. 

Bell would tell you that the loss of Kearse's veteran leadership and style of play is crushing, but he is more than ready to step up if the Cowboys chose to move in that direction.

"He's a very valuable player to the defense," Bell said of Kearse. "I want him to get back fast, but just be ready when my number's called wherever they need me to play this week. 

"You can't get your opportunity and not be ready for it."

-Layten Praytor (9/14/22)

Adjusting Without Dak

It would be easy for the Cowboys to panic with Dak Prescott not being on the field for the next few weeks. Tight end Dalton Schultz doesn't see it that way.

"It's a mindset, man," Schultz said. "You could freakout and start worrying about stuff that you can't control, or come in, put your head down and work and focus on the stuff you can control."

Regardless of whether Prescott or Cooper Rush is under center, the thing that remains the same is how opposing defenses will lineup against CeeDee Lamb as the primary receiver. While Schultz is also one of the Cowboys' primary passing targets, he again kept it simple.

"That's the NFL," Schultz said of opposing defenses plans. "They're going to try to take away your best guy and they're going to try to create great matchups for the rest of us. We're trying to do the same. We're trying to create good matchups for us."

"We can do better execute when we get those one-on-one opportunities."

-Layten Praytor (9/14/22)

Zeke Ready To Eat

Ezekiel Elliott understands the assignment: produce in the run game. It's been the same mission since he first stepped foot in the door as the Cowboys rookie first-round pick in 2016 and, in 2022, the team again finds itself without Dak Prescott for an extended period of time - meaning they'll again need to lean heavily on the two-time rushing champ if they're to establish stability within an offense now lead by backup quarterback Cooper Rush and a young wide receiver unit desperately in need of a bounce back game in Week 2. 

"I think it's important, period, to establish the run game - to run the football," Elliott said after practice on Wednesday ahead of their coming clash with the Bengals. "... I think we ran the ball efficiently last Sunday and I'm looking forward to doing it again this week. … The efficiency is there, we just gotta get to it, get the runs and wear on the defense."

Elliott finished with only 10 carries in Week 1 but averaged 5.2 yards per attempt - one of the only productive pieces for an otherwise discombobulated Cowboys offense – and while he "doesn't know" if there's a magic number of carries he needs to keep the team rolling, but does he think 10 is enough?

"Nah," he said.

-Patrik Walker (9/14/22)