Kellen Moore looking to ‘score a few more points’ in second start

Kellen Moore has a simple goal for his second career start.

“Score a few more points,” Moore said, grinning. “Obviously that’s kind of the whole objective. Hopefully we can do a little better.”

Moore made his NFL starting debut last Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, and left much to be desired.

The Cowboys were held without a touchdown for the fourth time this season, Moore completed less than half his passes and the team left with a 16-6 loss.

It certainly wasn’t the starting debut Moore had envisioned. The former Boise State star has waited patiently for an opportunity to show what he can do at this level, and didn’t blow anyone away.

But there were some positives to come out of the game such as executing well on third down and putting together a couple decent drives. However, as Moore said, the name of the game is scoring points and he knows he has to do that with his second starting opportunity against Washington on Sunday.

“It’s a huge opportunity,” Moore said. “You don’t know how many of these you ever get, so you take them for as much value as you can. This one will be important, this one will be big. Second start, kinda got the first one out of the way. Hopefully this one turns out a lot better.”

Moore finished his starting debut by completing 13 of 31 passes for 186 yards with no touchdowns and an interception for a 48.6 rating.

That’s an uninspiring stat line, of course, but Moore will have another chance to show he can play at this level against the Redskins. And nobody remains a bigger supporter of Moore than offensive coordinator Scott Linehan.

Linehan said he was “really proud of my young little lefty out there” in reference to Moore’s debut, and remains steadfast in his belief that Moore could become a dependable backup in the league.

“I do. You know, I’m obviously the guy waving his flag more so than anybody,” Linehan said. “But I just really felt comfortable the way he played in the game. I know he had the interception, we had a couple misses, but he didn’t look like a guy who was starting his first game to me.

“We didn’t score enough, but I think he sparked our ability to get some big plays and move the team. Handled it very much like a veteran in my mind.”

As far as Moore’s thoughts on his own abilities to become a viable backup option for the Cowboys going forward, he said: “Certainly I feel capable. I don’t really worry too much about that. It’s not my decision.

“Obviously you get this opportunity this week, so we’re excited for it. Hopefully we can play well and see where that takes us.”

This story was originally published January 1, 2016 at 11:41 AM with the headline "Kellen Moore looking to ‘score a few more points’ in second start."