Witten gets looks, but not many passes

Jason Witten has been the security blanket for quarterbacks throughout his career. After all, there’s a reason he’s only the second tight end in history in the 1,000-catch club.

But Witten was targeted only twice Sunday, a surprising development considering Kellen Moore was making his first career start.

Was it simply Witten drawing more defensive attention with Dez Bryant sidelined with an injury?

“Obviously we like Witten,” coach Jason Garrett said. “We throw him the ball a lot and he’s been someone that throughout his career that we’ve thrown the ball to.

“There were some protection opportunities for him in this game and there were some other opportunities where he did run routes and maybe he got a little bit more attention from their linebackers and their interior defenders, that’s when the ball went outside.”

Moore said he looked Witten’s way more than the box score might suggest.

“Obviously, Jason is going to get a lot of attention and deservedly so,” Moore said. “There were a few times where he was in protection and a couple of times where it kind of worked out to different people.

“There are progressions built in where you look for Jason first and you kind of work your way back out.”

With his lone catch, though, Witten did set another franchise-record for most consecutive games with a catch. Sunday marked No. 118, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Michael Irvin.

It’s another accolade for Witten, but he has repeatedly said winning is his top priority at this point in his career.

This story was originally published December 27, 2015 at 8:13 PM with the headline "Witten gets looks, but not many passes."