'Trust!' Inside the Dallas Cowboys' Connection Between Dak Prescott and Brandin Cooks

'Trust!' Inside the Dallas Cowboys' Connection Between Dak Prescott and Brandin Cooks

FRISCO - Leadership. Character. Professionalism. Class. The Dallas Cowboys this offseason traded for veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks in part because his repuation promises he would bring all those important characteristics to The Star.

But at some point, he needed to make some plays, too. And that point came in Monday night's 20-17 win at the Los Angeles Chargers, in which his timely contributions - and then his fourth-quarter touchdown on a third-down throw from Dak Prescott - helped key a "must-win'' for a Dallas team that jumps to 4-2.

Brandin Cooks - DallasCowboys.com 

"It was a great throw and a throw also that (Prescott) put trust in me to go out there and go make," Cooks said. "I'm just thankful for the opportunity and coming up with the big play to show he can continue to trust me."

"Trust'' is not an issue with Cooks, as a person or as a player. Maybe "opportunity'' is a better word to describe his slow start to his Dallas career. This play gave Cooks his first touchdown of the season, and it gave the Cowboys a 17-10 lead. In the mix, too, was his 11-yard reception on third-and-9 to keep alive a drive that added to his four catches for 36 yards ... with a 14-yard run tacked on to the numbers.

"Cooks did a great job,'' Dak said. "(He) was due ... the player that he's been, the person that he's been, everything that he brings to this team ... He was due for a night like this. Happy for him. It will only grow for him."

Michael Gallup was a top target in this game; that didn't work out. CeeDee Lamb needed to be fed, and he got seven catches for 117 yards; that worked out. ... as did the involvement of the 30-year-old Cooks.

"It felt good," he said. "It was one of those things that I wanted to continue to build on and continue to earn to build that trust with Dak."