To be a backup quarterback is to be on constant standby. Most of the time, he’s wearing a headset and holding a clipboard; but any moment could be the one that sees him suddenly strapping on a helmet and taking live-fire action in the game.
It’s not a familiar role for Andy Dalton, the ten-year veteran who spent his first nine seasons in Cincinnati, where he was the starter in his first NFL game. But it’s a role he adjusted to quickly upon signing with Dallas this past offseason. As someone who had to turn the Bengals offense over to the understudy several times due to injury, Dalton knew all too well that his playing status could change on any given snap.
“You never want anything to happen, but you’ve got to stay ready,” the 32-year-old Texas native told reporters after leading the Cowboys to a 37-34 win over the Giants in relief of an injured Dak Prescott. “That’s what I’ve done. I’ve stayed ready, been ready to go into these games. You want to have the opportunity to play; I mean, I knew the situation I was in. Just trying to do my best to support Dak and everything that he’s doing, but I feel like I was prepared for these moments.”
Prescott suffered a gruesome compound fracture and ankle dislocation midway through the third quarter of Sunday’s contest in Arlington. Dalton entered the game and was tasked with the unenviable job of having to rally an emotional Cowboys offense who had just watched their leader carted off the field in tears.
“You absolutely hate it for Dak,” Dalton said. “The way that he was playing this year and everything he’s put into it, I hate to see that for him. It’s emotional. You hate that injuries happen in this game; unfortunately, they’re part of it.”
Dalton made a brief appearance in the team’s Week 2 outing versus Atlanta, coming on for two snaps while Prescott was checked for a possible concussion after a rough hit. He threw one end-zone incompletion and handed off to Ezekiel Elliott for no gain before Prescott returned.
The three-time Pro Bowler got off to an even less auspicious start in his latest relief appearance, taking a sack and losing five yards on his first play against New York.
“Obviously, the first play, we would like to have a better outcome. But there’s no flinch. We ended up scoring on the drive, able to finish that drive off.”
But the Cowboys followed up that touchdown drive with a three-and-out. When they got the ball back next, Dalton promptly lost the exchange of the snap from rookie center Tyler Biadasz.
“The second possession, we fumbled the ball,” Dalton recounted, “gave them a chance and got them back in the game. But one thing you’ve seen with this team is there’s no flinch.”
After that hiccup, though, Dalton was lights-out, going 7-of-8 for 92 yards over the team’s final two series, both drives ending with field goals. The first tied the score with under two minutes to play; the second won it as time expired.
“For a lot of people, you want to be in those situations: tie ball game, get a chance to go down [in a] two-minute drive to win the game. You want to instill confidence in everybody. I’ve obviously been in these situations multiple times, so it’s a lot of fun to be in those situations. Fun to see how everybody responded. Everybody came out and made their plays,” Dalton explained. “That’s why you play this game, for moments like that.”
If the former TCU star wants moments like that, he came to the right team at just the right time. The Dallas defense has been dreadful thus far, allowing tons of yards and lots of points to opponents over five weeks. The offense has been forced to play most of the season in catch-up mode, squeaking by with two last-second wins and falling just short in their three losses.
“We feel like we’ve been in these moments too often already this season,” Dalton remarked. “What it’s shown is there’s no quit in this team, no quit in what we’re doing. To have the turnover- fumbled snap, which we’ve got to get that fixed- to give them a chance to then score the touchdown, but for us to respond. I think that was huge. To drive down, kick the game-winning field goal, make the play that we needed to make, I think that’s just more confidence to know that we can do anything that we want to do. We’ve just got to all play together and find ways to win these games.”
For the rest of 2020, it seems, Andy Dalton will no longer be on standby. He’ll be the one leading the Cowboys’ effort to find those ways.
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