Did the Dallas Cowboys give up on quarterback Brandon Weeden too soon?

Jason Garrett isn’t surprised to see Brandon Weeden having success in Houston.

Weeden is the toast of Houston right now, coming in for an injured T.J. Yates and rallying the Texans to a 16-10 victory over Indianapolis Colts on Sunday for the organization’s first win in Indianapolis. The win put the Texans in position for a playoff berth atop the AFC South standings.

This is the same guy the Cowboys benched after he went 0-3 in place of Tony Romo, and later dumped when Romo returned last month.

Did the Cowboys make a mistake?

Weeden’s three-start stint happened when the team’s top offensive threat, receiver Dez Bryant, was sidelined, and the running game was sputtering.

Matt Cassel, Weeden’s replacement, had the benefit of Bryant and a running game, and still went 1-6. Cassel finally got benched in favor of Kellen Moore on Saturday night, and might be best remembered in his Cowboys days for tossing an interception and being flagged for intentional grounding on the same play.

But Garrett wasn’t ready to say the Cowboys made an outright error in choosing Cassel over Weeden.

“You just make the best decision for your team at the time,” Garrett said. “We just felt like that was the right thing for us to do. I think we all said at the time this isn’t only about the quarterback.

“There are a lot of things Brandon did well for us, gave us great chances to win a couple of those games and it didn’t work out. We just felt like given what the circumstances were, that was the right move for our team at the time. So we wish him nothing but the best. He did a good job for us when he was here.”

In the games he played for the Cowboys this seasons, Weeden completed 71 of 98 passes (72.4 percent) for 738 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Cassel completed 119 of 205 passes (58 percent) for 1,276 yards with five touchdowns and seven interceptions.

“Brandon is a good quarterback and he played well for us in those situations,” Garrett said. “He’s prepared. He’s going to be ready for those opportunities. He’s got a poise and composure about him, so it doesn’t surprise me one bit.”

The surprising thing might be that the Cowboys couldn’t figure out a way to win with him, or at least give him a chance with a more complete offense.

This story was originally published December 21, 2015 at 5:28 PM with the headline "Did the Dallas Cowboys give up on quarterback Brandon Weeden too soon?."