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Cooper Rush’s big game last season vs. Vikings inspired the Cowboys’ backup quarterback

Mike McCarthy said preparing the backup quarterbacks is crucial before preseason games.

DENVER — The game that changed everything unfolded 10 months ago.

Cooper Rush took the field as a starting quarterback five years after he last held that title for Central Michigan. The Cowboys backup threw for 325 yards, two touchdowns and led the team on a 13-play, 75-yard drive in the final three minutes for a come-from-behind victory over Minnesota.

“It was huge,’’ said Rush, who had thrown only three passes in a regular-season game before beating the Vikings. “I waited a long time for that game, years of saying can I do it, can I do it? Then you get to go do it and go out there, play free and cut it loose. I was able to play solid in that game and our defense played unbelievable.

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“It gives you confidence just to come back and build on it.’’

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Rush will start again in Saturday night’s 8 o’clock kickoff against Denver at Empower Field. The stakes aren’t nearly as high in this preseason opener as they were back on Halloween night.

Calling Rush a new man would be an overstatement. But the confidence that came with that road victory over the Vikings, the way it elevated him in the eyes of his teammates, remains.

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But that doesn’t change the reality of the backup quarterback. Rush is back in the training camp grind with no chance of moving up on the depth chart. The best he can do is hold onto his job and repel another challenge, this one from Will Grier.

“Now you’re competing again,’’ Rush said. “You’re right back at it.

“That’s just the nature of the business. It’s what you do now. I definitely have confidence, building off of it, knowing you can go do it and trust yourself that you can, but every day out here you’re just back to competing, trying to get completions and move the ball.

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“You’re kinda back to square one.’’

Rush is in a better spot than he was at this time one year ago. In that camp, Garrett Gilbert was the backup behind Dak Prescott. Rush was after him on the depth chart but was clearly being squeezed by Ben DiNucci, a seventh-round pick entering his second year with the Cowboys.

But Gilbert played his way out of the job and DiNucci took a step back from his rookie season. Rush got the job with a preseason performance that was more solid than tantalizing.

“Preseason games are huge, especially for the backup quarterbacks,’’ Rush said. “It’s everything for us.

“It’s an opportunity to go out there and play for someone else in a real game environment and make decisions doing that.’’

Someone else said something similar recently.

Oh yeah, it was Mike McCarthy.

“Well, the games are the most important because at the end of the day when you go to play quarterback — you learn this as a quarterbacks coach — you have to prepare your second, third and fourth quarterbacks for preseason football,’’ the Cowboys head coach said.

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“Preseason football is different. The protection is not going to be clean, unfortunately. There’s other things going on. … That’s why scramble drills are important.

“At the end of the day, as a quarterback you know when they give you the ball you’re got to move the team. That’s really what I’m looking for.’’

Grier suffered a groin pull earlier in the week , which will likely table the competition for a few more days. But Rush can stake an even stronger claim to the job based on his performance against the Broncos.

“I think I’m throwing it better,’’ Rush said. “I think my RPMs are up. Now it’s just stacking days on top of each other, gaining confidence with the group you’re with and the receivers you’re with.

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“It’s been solid.’’

What mechanical tweaks did Rush make during the offseason?

“A little bit of hip rotation stuff, core things, working on my (arm) slots, delivering the ball, my elbow,’’ he said. “I can get real technical, but it’s all encompassing and I think it’s been good.’’

And he’ll always have that game against Minnesota.

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“I mean having last year’s experience helps a little bit, maybe,’’ he said. “But I try not to think like that. And then when you’re out here, you don’t feel it. You’re out here practicing.

“You don’t have that mind-set as a backup.’’

Catch David Moore on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) with the Musers at 9:35 every morning and the Hardline Tuesday and Thursday at 4:15 p.m. during Cowboys training camp.

Twitter: @ DavidMooreDMN

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