When informed that his team is a 5.5-point underdog on the road against the defending Super Bowl champion at his pre s conference Thursday, head coach Mike McCarthy the following, Cowboys linebacker appreciated McCarthy's confidence."Yeah, it's us vs. everybody," Parsons said Thursday, . "That means that Coach knows what's up. He reads the room. He sees what we can do and how we've been performing. Your coach should have that type of confidence in his players.""I don't ever look at point spreads, but I would agree with that: I wouldn't think we're underdogs," Cowboys right guard Thursday. "It's going to be a great game, they're a great football team. We have a ton of confidence in our group. It's going to be a great football game." Featured Game | Los Angeles Rams vs. Dallas Cowboys Moneyline Spread Total LAR DAL One reason the Cowboys (3-1) have this level of confidence on their current three-game winning streak is the play of longtime backup , who has won every start in filling in for an injured -- dating back to his win on "Sunday Night Football" in Week 8 last season against the . And with their streak of three in a row against the , , and this year, all of the team's playoff goals are intact despite Prescott's fractured thumb injury in Week 1. Owner Jerry Jones is floating on cloud nine. "I'm just skipping along; I can't touch the ground," Jones Tuesday morning on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. "I did not envision a three-game winning streak ... The thought for me after Week 1 was 'Let's not eliminate ourselves from playoff contention .'"Rush has not only kept the Cowboys offense afloat enough to earn victories in each of the past three weeks, but he's made some history in becoming the only quarterback since at least 1950 to win his first four career starts with more than 200 pa sing yards and a pa ser rating over 90 in each start. Rush is also the first Cowboys quarterback to win his first four career starts. Austin Rivers Jersey DAL QB #10 CMP%60.8YDs737TD4INT0YD/Att7.23 W-L3-0Pa s YPG224.3Pa s TD4Turnovers0Pa ser Rating100.1"It's been fun, trying to enjoy it. The NFL doesn't let you enjoy it much, you have to go week in and week out and play, but 4-0 is the defense and all the breaks we catch," Rush after their win against the Commanders on Sunday. "QB win stats are what they are. It's a team game. It's nice having the defense have our back like that, Brett's Maher making kicks, and we're doing just enough on offense."Jones initially said he would "walk to New York" if Rush played well enough to incite any calls for a quarterback controversy Ben McLemore Jersey . Now, he has walked those comments back when talking about a potential controversy this week. "No, as I see it right today," Jones said when asked about a scenario where the team would stick with Rush over a healthy Prescott.The Cowboys' $160 million quarterback has begun ramping up his rehabilitation efforts, seen running off to the side gripping a football during Thursday's practice. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott has incorporated holding a football in his side work with director of rehabilitation Britt Brown. Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) "I know Prescott's thumb is better," Jones said. "I know he's gonna go out every day and make progre s toward being able to grip the ball. He'll have a big week and he'll be hard on himself getting ready to go."Despite the progre s he has been making, Prescott is still wearing a splint on his surgically-repaired right hand, seen sporting it at Tuesday's New York Yankees-Texas Rangers baseball game in Arlington, Texas. Always appreciate the support, ! Texas Rangers (@Rangers) McCarthy said Prescott had a good visit with a hand specialist Tuesday, but that he is still without a timetable for his return to play."He will work with the rehab group in practice, and he won't be targeted to play until he is cleared to work in quarterback school pre-practice," McCarthy said. "The next step is to get enough strength in the hand to throw the football. The goal right now is to get the strength to grip the football, that's the immediate goal."Even though the wins have kept coming with Rush at the controls of their offense, their attack hasn't po se sed the same level of firepower it showed last season when Dallas led the NFL in scoring offense, averaging 31.2 points per game. Its 17.8 points per game this season rank as the fifth-lowest in the NFL despite the 3-1 record.Dak PrescottCooper RushW-L11-64-0PPG30.222.0Opp PPG21.214.8Pa ser Rating102.098.7"We just have to score more," receiver Thursday. "I feel like we got off to a rough start early on, we didn't score any touchdowns in Week 1. We put ourselves behind the eight ball, and we understand that we have to get in the end zone more. Just have to convert on third down, get more first downs, move the ball and do what we have to do to get in David Nwaba Jersey the red zone and finish off these drives."Despite Rush knowing his days as the Cowboys starting quarterback are numbered, he maintained he isn't thinking about the end right now. "You just enjoy playing ball. You don't get to start every week as a backup," Rush said. "While you're in there, you just want to do your job and enjoy it. It's really fun being with those guys. We have a heck of a team, great locker room. You cherish it all and when your number is called, you just keep playing."Lamb, the team's leader in receptions (23), receiving yards (288) and receiving touchdowns (two) this season, has found a groove with Rush, catching both of his touchdowns in the past two games. A third in a row this week against the Rams would be Lamb's career-high for consecutive games with a receiving score. DAL WR #88 TAR42REC23REC YDs288REC TD2FL0 Weeks 1-2Weeks 3-4Targets2220Receptions914Receiving Yards104184Receiving Touchdowns02Oddly enough, the 17th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft averages more receiving yards per game with Rush starting (92.8) than Prescott (69.1). That gap likely is because every game of Lamb's career besides the 19-3 Week 1 home lo s against the involved him and four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver competing for targets in 2020 and 2021 before the latter was traded to the this offseason. Rec-Yds-TD2021 (Week 8) at MIN6-112-02022 (Week 2) vs. CIN7-75-02022 (Week 3) at NYG8-87-12022 (Week 4) vs. WAS6-97-1"It's just Cooper Rush being Cooper," Lamb said Thursday when asked about Rush winning his first four career starts. "When you have him in the locker room and see him everyday, understand the kind of person he is I've been working with him for three years. For him to get his opportunity and shine a little light on him, is huge for him. I hope he gets to 5-0. I'm proud of him and everything he has accomplished, looking forward to continuing."Lamb, who didn't practice Thursday due to a groin injury, made it very clear that mi sing practice was about maintenance and that he will be playing in Los Angeles against the Rams on Sunday."I'm fine. ... I don't want to scare nobody," Lamb with a smile Thursday. Pick Six Newsletter Crafted By The Best NFL Experts Get the day's big stories + fun stuff you love like mock drafts, picks and power rankings. I agree to receive the "Pick Six Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies. By pre sing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the and acknowledge Paramount's . Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. Sorry! There was an error proce sing your subscription. LAR DE #99 Rush will be going up against a future first-ballot Hall of Famer on Sunday when Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald lines up acro s from him at the line of scrimmage. The three- Jae'Sean Tate Jersey time NFL Defensive Player of the Year (tied for the most in NFL history with Lawrence Taylor and ) is the league's leader in sacks (100.0), tackles for lo s (155), and quarterback hits (230) since 2014."He's a true game-wrecker," Rush after practice Thursday. "He's the best in the game for a reason. You have to account for him in the run game and in the pa s game. He's the best to ever do it at that position, and it shows every week on tape. We have a good plan but it's going to take execution. ... You always have to know where No. 99 is. He's obviously a focal point."Only two players have more than 85 quarterback pre sures and more than 85 tackles since the start of last season, and they will both take the field Sunday at SoFi Stadium: Donald and Micah Parsons. Seeing the Dallas linebacker in practice is as good of a simulation of Donald's pa s-rushing presence as Rush could have."You got Micah Parsons , he can wreck a game, too. Jalen Ramsey kinda plays like Trevon Diggs, great ball skills," Rush said. "You see similar traits in all of them, so always going against our defense helps us because those guys are pretty talented."Donald has generated multiple quarterback pre sures in 56 straight games, according to NextGen Stats, but he'll be facing a fellow member of the 2010's NFL All-Decade team on the interior of the line Sunday in Cowboys right guard Zack Martin."Zack Martin is not only an anchor for our offensive line, but he's one of our keystones in the locker room, just a great pro all the way around, playing at an extremely high level," McCarthy said. "He gives us such a level of consistency with his experience and communication. He does a phenomenal job with our players. If you want to watch a matchup, that'd definitely be one to circle. It also depends on where Aaron Donald is going to play. I don't know how much he will be on the right side.""He does some very impre sive, natural things on tape," Martin of Donald on Thursday. "I think they're just trying to get the best one-on-one matchup, they don't really care who it's against. They're just trying to find a one-on-one for him Donald . In my experience, he's played all over the place. He's just trying to get a one-on-one."Donald may see plenty of double teams Sunday because the Rams don't quite have another headliner in their pa s rush who Jeff Green Jersey plays anywhere close to the level of Donald. They have ranked second-to-last in the NFL in pre sure rate this season (20.6%) after losing edge rusher in free agency to the . A year ago, the Rams had the ninth-highest pre sure percentage in the entire NFL (34.8%). However, Los Angeles' pa s rush this season has been a one-man show, as Donald's 16 pre sures are double anyone else's total on the team.Pre suresAaron Donald1684No matter what happens on the field Sunday, Dallas will likely feel comfortable inside SoFi Stadium since it expects a significant amount of fans to be in the stands. The team operates its training camp out of Oxnard, California, a little over a one hour drive outside of the heart of Los Angeles. The Cowboys fans could be clearly heard in Dallas' 20-17 win over the in Week 3 last season inside SoFi Stadium, which the two L.A. teams both call home. Cowboys have taken the field. SoFi Stadium louder than Id have expected for how full it is right now. Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) "Cowboy Nation definitely shows up in LA," Lamb said. "Last year, when we played the Chargers it was the same scenario, it definitely felt like a home game in LA."How quickly Rush gets the ball out of his hands will go a long way in determining the victor in Sunday's game, since Donald will look to rudely welcome his houseguests into the home of the defending champions.
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