Dallas Cowboys: Is Kellen Moore the right choice at backup quarterback?

Dallas Cowboys backup quarterback Kellen Moore struggled again in preseason action, so should the team be worried about a potential depth issue?

Dallas Cowboys backup quarterback Kellen Moore played most of the first half as the starter in the second preseason game of 2017, this time against the Los Angeles Rams. In the Saturday night showdown, Moore looked sloppy, didn’t make the best decisions and didn’t give the fans a lot of security at the position.

Granted, Dak Prescott will be the starter for the Cowboys. And we can even say Moore didn’t have all of the starters on the field with him during the preseason. The likes of Ezekiel Elliott, Tyron Smith, Dez Bryant and Jason Witten were not active against the Rams.

Even with that against Moore — and the fact he’s coming off an injury where he missed all of last season — his play needs to be better than what we all witnessed in his second preseason outing (and the Hall of Fame Game for that matter). Moore doesn’t complete long passes, and on the passes he completed, they all went for under 10 yards.

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At the start of training camp, the Cowboys seemed to have the top two quarterback spots set. With how this preseason has gone for the Cowboys, though, are any of the other quarterback spots really set behind Prescott?

In the first half for Moore, he was 8-of-16 for 66 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. In the Hall of Fame Game against the Arizona Cardinals, Moore was 12-of-17 for 182 yards with one touchdown and one interception. On most of those completions, the passes were short passes turned into positive yardage by the wide receiver, inflating dink-and-dunk type throws.

Moore didn’t look crisp or in control of the Cowboys offense. There was the fact he didn’t have all the weapons that Prescott will have this regular season, but it was easy to see that Moore wasn’t on his game Saturday in the first half.

Then there was the play of rookie quarterback Cooper Rush in the second half. He played better than Moore overall, leaving the question that maybe Rush should be in contention for the top backup role. Maybe Moore needs that added pressure to step up.

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Rush played the third quarter and part of the fourth quarter for the Cowboys, finishing 9-of-11 for 104 yards and one touchdown. Granted, Rush did well against the Rams’ third string players, but also credit Rush for throwing the ball downfield nicely and looking prepared to play in the game. Rush also had two 20-plus yard completions, going 24 and 25 yards, respectively. The touchdown pass went for 25 yards on a completion to Rico Gathers that completed a six-play, 82-yard drive.

Luke McCown, the veteran of the Cowboys quarterback depth chart, has the prior NFL experience and all that goes with being around four NFL teams. But on his first drive of the fourth quarter, he fumbled and had a three-and-out. For his time on the field, McCown was 6-for-13 for 31 yards with two fumbles. The first fumble occurred as he was being sacked, and the second one came on a shotgun snap late in the fourth quarter.

Prior to Saturday, it seemed the Cowboys had their top two quarterback spots set, and that if the team kept a third-string quarterback, they should go the route of the veteran. After Saturday, maybe that opinion needs to re-assessed. If Dallas does want to keep a veteran, perhaps McCown isn’t the guy.

Maybe Rush can play his way into the second quarterback spot for this upcoming season. He at least deserves a chance to battle Moore for the second-string spot for the remainder of training camp and the preseason.

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This all could be for naught if Moore comes out in the third preseason game of the Cowboys and plays better. But, if Moore has another showing next week like he had against the Rams, then a big decision needs to be made by the Cowboys front office about the top backup role.