The Dallas Cowboys lost on Sunday to the Packers to fall to 4-9 on the season, but the team is not yet ready to make a quarterback change from Matt Cassel to Kellen Moore. Head coach Jason Garrett said that the team has confidence in Moore and this comes as Tony Romo remains sidelined and may not be able to return to action during the regular season.
Coming into Week 14 the Cowboys remained alive in the NFC East division race and while the team has not been eliminated yet, the loss against Green Bay hurt their chances quite a bit. The Eagles and Redskins both won in Week 14 and the Giants still have yet to play, as they will face off against the Miami Dolphins on Monday night. Cassel did not play well against the Packers, throwing for just 114 yards and an interception in the game, but the team appears not ready to make a quarterback change.
Some in the media have called for Kellen Moore to get a chance instead of Cassel after the way Cassel has played in recent games, but Garrett said to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that "we believe in Matt Cassel" and that "we believe he can win games for us." Garrett added that the team will look at the game tape "before we talk about anything regarding personnel" and while that may leave some leeway for the team to make a change right now that is looking unlikely.
The Cowboys have gone 3-1 this season in games that Tony Romo has started and they have combined now to go 1-8 in games started by Brandon Weeden or Matt Cassel. Cassel has five touchdowns and six interceptions this season in eight games played and he only has one touchdown pass in his last four games and he will need to improve those numbers if he wants to stay under center. The Cowboys have been reluctant to go to Moore this season, but if Cassel stumbles again, they may not have a choice.
Wide receiver Dez Bryant has not been able to get into much of a rhythm this season and he finished the game against the Packers with one catch for nine yards. Not having Romo healthy has been an issue for Bryant and his production and the injury he suffered earlier in the season also kept him from getting things going and now he has just six catches over the last three games played for the Cowboys.
Heading into the weekend Jerry Jones and the Cowboys said they had been reluctant to place Romo in IR until the team was eliminated from playoff contention. The team said that Romo likely would be able to return for the playoffs if the Cowboys made it, but after the loss on Sunday it will be a bit tougher to get things done. The Cowboys still have a game left against the Redskins and that gives the team some hope, but they will need a little help in the standings and some major improvement on offense as well.