Dallas Cowboys going back to Andy Dalton after ‘fun’ experience with rookie Ben DiNucci
Andy Dalton should be back at quarterback for the reeling Dallas Cowboys in next Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Cowboys don’t plan to continue with rookie seventh-round pick Ben DiNucci following Sunday night’s 23-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
If Dalton is healthy and cleared from concussion protocol, as expected, he will be back in the starting lineup.
“Absolutely. I mean, we brought Andy [Dalton] in here to be the backup,” vice president Stephen Jones said on Monday. “Obviously [starting quarterback] Dak [Prescott] is not going to be back this year. It’s Andy’s team now.
“I thought it was great for [Ben] DiNucci to get that experience. It doesn’t get any better than that going up to Philly and playing a divisional game, and he made some really good plays at times. He is certainly fun to watch and I certainly think he’s going to be a talent we can work with and develop as we move forward.”
The DiNucci experience was fun in a House of Horrors kind of way in a game played the day after Halloween as the Cowboys (2-6) were handed their third consecutive double-digit loss.
DiNucci completed 21 of 40 passes for 180 yards. He didn’t throw any interceptions, though there were several near misses. He was sacked four times and lost two fumbles.
The first sack and fumble cost the Cowboys an opportunity for points in the red zone in the first quarter. The second fumble proved to be the game clincher as it was returned for a touchdown as a 15-9 deficit became 21-9 with 5:18 remaining.
“Just gotta take care of the ball,” DiNucci said. “Those two [fumbles] on me was. Just bad ball on my part. That’s basically what it comes down to.
“I’ve got to clean that up, but this NFL thing it’s hard.”
DiNucci didn’t complete any attempts longer than 10 yards against the Eagles, going 0-of-9. And he was 6-of-20 attempts for 68 yards on attempts more than 5 yards. The bulk of his completions were at or near the line of scrimmage.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy acknowledged DiNucci’s inexperience and limited preparation, but he lamented the rookie’s inability to make plays down the field against a suspect Eagles secondary.
“Well, I mean there were definitely some opportunities you could see with Philadelphia having a number of injuries to their secondary and perimeter,” McCarthy said. “There were some matchups there that we obviously would have liked to exploit more. The ability to get the ball on the perimeter would have obviously benefited us.”
Michael Gallup led the Cowboys with seven catches for 61 yards, but most were primarily hitch passes at the line of scrimmage. Amari Cooper, who leads the team in receptions and yards, had one catch for 5 yards.
“Yeah, I mean, he was great in the huddle,” Cooper said. “He did some pretty good things out there in the game too. But you know, a rookie quarterback, the Eagles are going to come and they were going to bring a lot of blitzes, uh, just try to put some pressure on him. Because, why not? Who wouldn’t do that?”
Now, the Cowboys are going back to Dalton in hopes of reviving the season and jump-starting an offense that has scored just one touchdown in the past three games.
Since Prescott suffered a season-ending injury against the New York Giants on Oct. 11, Dalton and DiNucci have started 36 possessions and led the offense to only one touchdown and seven field goals.
The Cowboys have been outscored 86-22 in losses to Arizona, Washington and Philadelphia.
The free fall continues and there appears to be no end in sight with the Cowboys now facing the league’s last remaining undefeated team in the 7-0 Steelers.
“I think like anything in life, the game of football will teach you humility in every form or fashion you can imagine,” said McCarthy, who has never had a team go consecutive games without scoring a touchdown until this season. “To me, it’s just part of the course of the season; it’s part of our challenge. I believe we will be better off because of these hard times.”
