What’s there to say at this point? On Sunday night, the Packers are taking on the Dallas Cowboys, who’ve started the season with a healthy Dak Prescott under center to this point. Since we’ve done this for 15 other teams at this point and people seem to enjoy it, we figured we’d add to our other sports coverage this week by ranking the 14 different starting quarterbacks the Cowboys have used over the past 20 seasons. Go Pack Go!
14. Ben DiNucci
In 2020, Ben DiNucci (a.k.a. “Da Nooch” probably) appeared in a total of three games. During that span—one of which was a start, a loss—the short-lived QB managed 23 completions for 219 passing yards. No touchdowns and no interceptions. That’s pretty much it.
13. Trey Lance
Two seasons after the 49ers traded up in order to take Trey Lance third overall in the draft, San Francisco recouped some of its losses by sending him to Dallas in exchange for a fourth round pick just before the start of the 2023 season. Lance was relegated to third string quarterback status and didn’t play a single snap for Dallas that season, but following a year-ending injury to Dak Prescott, Lance became Cooper Rush’s backup for three games and he even started a meaningless Week 18 game (a Dallas loss, by the way). In his limited time as a Cowboy, Lance had 266 passing yards, 41 rushing yards, no touchdowns, and an interception.
12. Garrett Gilbert
Longtime practice squad player and/or backup quarterback Garrett Gilbert started exactly one game for Dallas, which was the result of Prescott being lost for the season, Andy Dalton getting COVID, and DiNucci being ineffective in his starting opportunity. He made the most of his only Cowboys game by throwing for 243 yards and tossing a touchdown (and, yeah, an interception as well) in a narrow Dallas loss.
11. Brad Johnson
Six seasons after serving as the starting QB for a Super Bowl-winning Tampa Bay team, Brad Johnson was finishing out his playing career as Tony Romo’s backup in 2008. The 40-year-old actually wound up starting three games, completing 41 of 78 passes for 427 yards and a pair of touchdowns. However, his 1-2 record as a starter and five interceptions probably wasn’t the end to his NFL career that Johnson had in mind for himself.
10. Kellen Moore
Former Boise State standout and current New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore didn’t exactly dazzle as a player in Dallas. He was winless in his two career starts with the team in 2015. In three total games as a Cowboys QB, Moore had 779 passing yards, four touchdowns, and six picks. Despite that unsavory stat line, Dallas made him their quarterbacks coach in 2018 and appointed him to offensive coordinator in 2019.
9. Matt Cassel
Actually, Moore owes his Cowboys playing opportunity to Matt Cassel, a previously serviceable backup and sometimes starter who struggled in seven 2015 starts with Dallas before being benched. Cassel was brought in to back up Brandon Weeden, who took over for Tony Romo after he broke his collarbone. Back to Cassel…he went 1-6 as a Cowboys starter with 1,276 yards through the air, five TD passes, and seven interceptions.
8. Kyle Orton
After being quietly good with the Bears, Broncos, and Chiefs, Kyle Orton brought his efficient and decidedly un-flashy style of play to Dallas. After spending most of 2012 and 2013 on the bench, Orton was given the opportunity to start the final regular season game of the ’13 season. He responded by going 30 of 46 with 358 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns. The only reason Orton isn’t a bit higher on this list is because he also threw two interceptions in that game, including one on the final Dallas drive to kill hopes of a Cowboys comeback.
7. Stephen McGee
While 127 passing yards, 55 rushing yards, and a passing touchdown aren’t astounding stats, that performance was good enough to help Stephen McGee win his one and only start under center for the Cowboys.
6. Brandon Weeden
Despite starting zero Cowboys wins, Brandon Weeden (fresh off his two-year stint with the Browns, who took him in the first round in 2012) had more than 1,000 passing years, five touchdowns compared to four interceptions, and a 68.3 completion percentage during his limited snaps in Dallas split between the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
5. John Kitna
The fifth slot seems about right for John Kitna, who put up stats similar to Andy Dalton in almost identical playing time with Dallas, but with six more interceptions.
4. Andy Dalton
Following nine mostly good seasons in Cincy, Texas native Andy Dalton returned to his home state to serve as Prescott’s backup. After QB1 sustained a season-ending injury in Week 5, Big Red stepped in for nine games in which Dallas went 4-5. During that span, Dalton would amass 2,170 passing yards and throw 14 touchdowns compared to eight interceptions.
3. Cooper Rush
It might sound crazy, but it’s true: current Falcon’s number three QB Cooper Rush is the third-best quarterback to start a game for the Cowboys during the last 20 seasons. During 14 starts, Dallas went 9-5 with Rush. In the entirety of his Cowboys career, Rush threw for nearly 3,500 yards with 20 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions. Not bad for the pride of Central Michigan!
2. Tony Romo
Burlington, Wisconsin’s own Tony Romo spent the entirety of his playing career with Dallas. During that span, Dallas went 78-49 and he became the franchise leader in virtually every passing category, at least until those numbers were all eclipsed by the next guy on this list.
1. Dak Prescott
Duh. He might not have the hardware that guys like Troy Aikman and Roger Stabach do, but Dak Prescott is the leader in pretty much every major statistical category among Cowboys quarterbacks. And besides Romo, he’s miles ahead of pretty much every other quarterback who has started a game for Dallas in the last 20 seasons.