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Seven months ago, midway through the first week of NFL free agency, Cooper Rush signed with the Ravens in a marriage of apparent convenience.

General manager Eric DeCosta needed a backup quarterback, someone who could offer more than Josh Johnson had the year before. He also needed a quarterback available below a certain price point. Lamar Jackson’s salary cap hit was a team-high $43.5 million, and the market’s more expensive backups would likely cost the Ravens a compensatory pick in the 2026 draft.

Rush was both good enough and cheap enough. The 31-year-old agreed to a two-year, $6.2 million deal with the Ravens, the latest in a string of low-cost, short-term QB2 signings, following Johnson ($1.2 million salary cap hit in 2024) and Tyler Huntley ($2.6 million hit in 2023).

Rush had been a solid backup for the Dallas Cowboys, going 9-5 as a starter over the previous four seasons, but the hope in Baltimore was that the Ravens wouldn’t need him beyond a couple of cleanup-duty snaps. Now, with Jackson ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans because of a hamstring injury, the 1-3 Ravens are counting on Rush in a must-win game.

“They all feel like must-wins,” Rush said Friday. “I mean, it doesn’t feel any different. I’ve kind of been here before. Whenever a franchise QB goes down, it’s always a sky-is-falling feeling everywhere you are. And it’s normal, and if you have to go out there on Sunday and do what you’ve got to do, it’s nice when you’ve got a whole week to prep for it.”

Almost no other NFL quarterbacks play the position like Jackson does, but Rush’s style falls somewhere on the other end of the spectrum from the two-time league Most Valuable Player.

Jackson averaged 8.2 carries per game and 6.6 yards per carry last season. Rush finished with 2.2 carries per game and 0.7 yards per carry over his 12 games (eight starts) for Dallas.

Jackson doesn’t mind holding on to the ball for four, six, even eight seconds on his drop-backs before locating a target. Rush would rather get to the top of his drop and fire away. His average time to throw over his career (2.36 seconds, according to Pro Football Focus) is almost a tenth of a second faster than Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s, one of the NFL’s quickest triggers.

Jackson has the vision, scrambling ability and arm talent to find open targets across the field. Rush often has to push passes into tight windows to keep the offense on schedule.

Jackson was a Heisman Trophy winner and first-round pick who’s in line for the richest contract extension in NFL history. Rush went undrafted out of Central Michigan in 2017, didn’t make his first start until 2021 and has never signed even an eight-figure deal.

“He was here the whole offseason, and you can see why he has been successful,” offensive coordinator Todd Monken said Thursday of Rush, whom he called a “consummate pro.” “He’s played a lot of football in this league. You forget his record as a starter. It’s outstanding. He did a great job. Everybody that you spoke to in Dallas ... they loved him. He’s been as good as advertised.”

Rush left Dallas with nine wins and a reputation as a caretaker quarterback. He had an impressive 1.8% interception rate and a 2-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio over his seven seasons with the Cowboys.

But sloppy play marred Rush’s early months in Owings Mills. He struggled with his accuracy in training camp. In the Ravens’ preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts, Rush went 2-for-4 for 16 yards and an interception. In his return to the Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium a week later, he went 20-for-30 for 198 yards and a touchdown — but threw two picks.

Not until the Ravens’ preseason finale did Rush seem to settle in. In a blowout win over the Washington Commanders, he went 5-for-5 for 59 yards and helped lead touchdown drives on his only two possessions.

“There’s a reason why he’s been in the league for nine years,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday. “He’s a really good player.”

The Texans (1-3) will test him Sunday. Their defense, which is allowing an NFL-low 12.8 points per game, can make really good players look really bad.

But, if left tackle Ronnie Stanley’s ankle injury and center Tyler Linderbaum’s calf injury aren’t major hindrances, Rush should have a more-than-capable supporting cast. He often did more with less in Dallas last season, and in Baltimore the Ravens will support him with a deep receiving corps and a talented running back room. Rush’s quick-game capability could also help keep the Texans’ talented pass rush at arm’s length.

“He loves football, and he’s been around for a long time, and he knows how to win games,” running back Justice Hill said Thursday. “So just hearing him [lead], how he dissects plays and how he thinks about [the game], he’s ready for these moments. So it’s going to be fun to see.”

Hill called him a “chill guy,” and Rush’s matter-of-fact cadence at his news conference Friday hinted at his own experience under the spotlight. Being the Cowboys’ starting quarterback can prepare you for a lot.

Even, perhaps, replacing Lamar Jackson.

“You definitely lean on it,” Rush said. “We’ve been here before in this type of situation. It’s nothing new, and so you lean on that. You get confidence from it and just trust yourself. And, if you’ve got to go out there, you can do it.”

This article has been updated.