Cowboys All-Time Top 10 No. 2 QBs: Ranking Dalton to Staubach
Immediate stopgap. Long-term insurance policy. But mostly, the Dallas Cowboys' signing Andy Dalton is shrewd because he’s already one of the best backup quarterbacks in franchise history.
Dak Prescott is the team’s No. 1. Any “debate,'' “competition” or crow-barred “controversy” is nothing more than a COVID-19 exercise aimed at making today feel different than yesterday or tomorrow or next week. Dalton is not coming to Dallas to be a starter. He knows it. The coaching staff knows it. Prescott knows it. The Cowboys have already said it to CowboysSI.com.
The end.
After playing for a paltry $2 million last season, the incumbent Dak will certainly play this season for $31 million(ish). Doesn’t mean, however, that Prescott won’t miss an off-season snap or two. Currently under a franchise tag, if he doesn’t sign by July 15 he could skip training camp and preseason and … welcome to Panicville, Andy Dalton.
He’s the imperfect player that fits perfectly.
At 32, Dalton’s career is closer to dusk than dawn. In Cincinnati he led the Bengals to the playoffs his first four seasons 2011-14 with nothing to show for it. Last year he was in stark decline, producing the lowest completion percentage and fewest touchdowns since his rookie season.
Performance-wise – though certainly not expectation-wise – think of him as the Bengals’ Tony Romo. As a starter he was a good player, but never good enough to be great. Both he as Romo started nine seasons, with the Cowboy holding statistical edges in most metrics including yards (34,183-31,594), completion percentage (65-62), touchdowns (248-204), fewer interceptions (117-118) and more Pro Bowls (4-3).
The playoffs, however, defined both as ultimate underachievers.
Romo was 2-4 (despite throwing eight touchdowns to only two interceptions); Dalton a hideous 0-4 (with six picks to just one score). Unfathomable stat: Dalton never threw a single pass in the playoffs while the Bengals had the lead. In their respective cities they will be revered for what they did, but reviled for what they didn’t.
Put out to pasture in favor of No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow, Dalton could’ve stayed in Cincinnati as a backup. Instead, he’s coming “home.”
To Texas, where he was born and attended high school (Katy, just outside Houston). To DFW, where he went to college (TCU). To Dallas, where, as CowboysSI.com was first to reveal, he now owns a home (University Park). To the Cowboys, where he’ll replace Jason Garrett as the prominent ginger wearing a headset on the sideline.
There were some initial “He’s washed up!” grumblings from Cowboys fans at the signing of Dalton. Because in his four seasons Prescott has been remarkably indestructible – starting 64 of 64 games – so making his backup a priority is akin to buying snowshoes on South Padre. But, just in case, whom do you more trust:
Cooper Rush and his 26 NFL snaps?
Andy Dalton and his 70 NFL wins?
Across eras and through generations, the Cowboys have historically de-emphasized backup quarterbacks. Most of the “good” ones, turns out, were a result of pre-season injury or mid-season trade. Most of us figured that in 2020 Jerry Jones would – with a nod toward economics – risk another season with Rush, who in three years threw exactly three passes. His career achievement: one completion, for two yards. In the past two seasons, Cole Beasley and Randall Cobb threw more passes. One each.
But instead of Rush (released on Monday), obscure kid Clayton Thorson or seventh-round draft pick Ben DeNucci, the Cowboys awarded a contract worth $3 million to a quarterback with one of the best backup resumes in team history. (By the way: A must-read below from Fish on how this really is a $3 mil deal for Andy, not the $7 mil deal some keep billing it as.
Compiling a list of Dallas’ worst No. 2s is nauseatingly simple. It starts with Babe Laufenberg, ends with Stephen McGee and is littered with the likes of John Roach, Brandon Weeden, Matt Cassel, Anthony Wright and Clint Stoerner in between.
The Top 10 best aren’t ranked for their careers as a whole or their performance while with the Cowboys, but more so their credentials up and until assuming the role. These players most confidently answered the question, “Are the Cowboys in capable hands should something happen to their starting quarterback?”
The Cowboys have only twice in 61 years began a season with a backup that started and won a Super Bowl – Roger Staubach in 1972, Brad Johnson in 2007. (Two others – Wade Wilson in 1997, Drew Bledsoe in 2006 – won rings as No. 2s.) Only during the wacky period of 1971-72 – when coach Tom Landry sometimes literally alternated plays with Staubach and Craig Morton while making consecutive Super Bowl berths – have the Cowboys enjoyed a credible, credentialed quarterback on the upswing of his career.
But, at times, the Cowboys’ bevy of backups has provided calms before the storm.
In 1963, Eddie LeBaron brought a Rookie of the Year award and four Pro Bowl appearances into his role backing up starter Don Meredith. But with only 28 NFL wins as a No. 1, he doesn’t make our list. Same with Steve Beuerlein, who held Troy Aikman’s clipboard in 1992 the year after leading the Cowboys to a 4-0 record and into the playoffs while subbing for the injured superstar. But, again, with only 12 NFL wins in Dallas, he didn’t make the cut.
With his 70 wins and four playoff appearances, Dalton is an accomplished quarterback perhaps overqualified to be a backup. But, after all, isn’t that the point?
The Top 10 Best Backup Quarterbacks in Cowboys History:
10. Wade Wilson (Troy Aikman), 1997 – 35 wins. 1 Pro Bowl. NFL completion percentage leader with Vikings in 1988. The late Wilson had started an NFC Championship Game with Minnesota and earned a Super Bowl XXX ring as Cowboys’ backup two seasons prior.
9. Andy Dalton (Dak Prescott), 2020 – 70 wins. 3 Pro Bowls. Nine years as a starter. Just 0-4 in playoffs. Coming off worst season in NFL, but only 32 with big-game experience.
8. Drew Bledsoe (Tony Romo), 2006 – 95 wins. 4 Pro Bowls. NFL passing yards leader in 1994. Won Super Bowl ring as Patriots’ No. 2 behind Tom Brady in 2001. 34-year-old lost Cowboys’ job to rising Romo in Week 7.
7. Danny White (Gary Hogeboom), 1984 – 42 wins. 1 Pro Bowl. 9 playoff starts. 32-year-old had led Cowboys to three consecutive NFC Championship Games 1980-82.
6. Brad Johnson (Tony Romo), 2007 – 71 wins. 2 Pro Bowls. Well in decline at 39, but still boasted aura of starting, winning Super Bowl for Buccaneers in 2002.
5. Craig Morton (Roger Staubach), 1971 – 22 wins. Led Cowboys to Super V the previous season at age 27. Lost a real-time competition at the season’s halfway point, then served as backup while Staubach led 10 consecutive wins including Super Bowl VI.
4. Randall Cunningham (Troy Aikman), 2000 – 79 wins. MVP. 4 Pro Bowls. 37-year-old had two years before led Vikings to 15-1 record and into the NFC Championship Game.
3. Tony Romo (Dak Prescott), 2016 – 78 wins. 4 Pro Bowls. 6 playoff starts. At 36, he was only two years removed from season in which he led NFL in completion percentage, threw 34 touchdowns to only nine interceptions and was 12-3 with a playoff win as the starter. Lost his job when injured in preseason, then watched - while still hurt for a big chunk of the season - as rookie Prescott lead Dallas to 13-3, division-winning season.
2. Bernie Kosar (Troy Aikman), 1993 – 53 wins. 1 Pro Bowl. 7 playoff starts. 30-year-old had led Browns to three AFC Championship Games in late 1980s. Filled in for injured Aikman in second half of NFC Championship Game, throwing touchdown pass to Alvin Harper to seal trip back to the Super Bowl.
1. Roger Staubach (Craig Morton), 1972 – Only 13 wins, but one was Super Bowl VI the previous year in which he won MVP. Injured his shoulder in the third preseason game, but remained the backup when healthy as Morton guided Dallas to 8-2 start and playoff berth. Came off bench to lead memorable comeback win over 49ers in playoffs, then started the following week’s NFC Championship Game loss at Washington.
