Cooper Rush bounces back for Falcons from awful preseason debut

It would have been impossible for Cooper Rush to play any worse than he did last week, but the Atlanta Falcons‘ veteran quarterback put in a far better performance against the Indianapolis Cotls than he did in the team’s preseason debut against the Denver Broncos.

After getting several passes deflected and two picked off by Denver (including a pick-six) Rush needed to settle into a rhythm, and he did that early on.

Rush’s first pass attempt was to rookie wide receiver Zachariah Branch, who caught it for a 15-yard gain, getting his game off on the right foot. Rush only managed seven more yards on his next two completions, and running back Tyler Goodson couldn’t get anything going on the ground. The Falcons’ opening drive stalled as a result but they at least finished with a field goal by Nick Folk to get on the scoreboard first.

Rush went 3/4 for 22 yards and an 87.5 passer rating on that first possession. The next time out, Rush didn’t have to do much. After one nine-yard completion to Nick Muse, Tyler Goodson took a handoff to the house for a 49-yard touchdown run.

The rest of the half was also relatively light work for the nine-year veteran. He peppered in some nice passes, including an 18-yarder to Chris Blair. Later, Rush hit undrafted rookie Vinny Anthony II in stride on a 17-yard crosser en route to Atlanta’s second touchdown.

This time around he did a much better job of not forcing passes into tight windows and taking what the defense gave him. Rush finished the first half with a line of 10/11 for 86 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions and a 99.2 passer rating.

While it’s only a preseason game, the Falcons have to feel a lot better about Rush as their No. 3 option now than they did one week ago. Now it’s up to rookie QB Jack Strand to match Rush’s performance.