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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Kellen Moore will get the start in Week 16 against the Buffalo Bills, head coach Jason Garrett announced, via Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Moore came in for Matt Cassel in Saturday's 19-16 loss to the New York Jets.
Cassel was benched after starting the game 3 of 8 for 37 yards and an interception. The Cassel-led Cowboys won just one of his six starts.
Moore is playing in his fourth season in the NFL, but Saturday's game was his first ever regular season action. He came in and brought an early spark to the Dallas offense, but struggled down the stretch. In the game, Moore completed 15 of 25 passes for 158 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions.
It wasn't a performance that blew anybody away, but the now 4-10 Cowboys did lose to the 9-5 Jets by just a field goal. The Jets are well in the playoff hunt in the AFC, while the Cowboys had an outside chance of competing going in, even in a bad NFC East. The loss officially eliminated Dallas from playoff contention.
Moore will be the fourth quarterback to start a game for the Cowboys this season. The starter, Tony Romo, suffered a broken collarbone twice this season, and was initially replaced by backup Brandon Weeden. That experiment didn't last long as Weeden led the Cowboys on a long losing streak, and Cassel was brought in to help.
Weeden is with the Houston Texans now, and he just led them to a win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15 after T.J. Yates tore his ACL. Weeden, who originally had full backing of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones before he was replaced by Cassel, didn't throw an interception against the Colts and led the Texans to a close 16-10 victory, giving them sole possession of first place in the AFC South.
With Moore, the Cowboys probably just want to see what they have. He's an undrafted quarterback who has sat behind Romo learning the ropes. The Cowboys will play the Bills in Week 16, and they will try to play spoiler against Washington in their regular season finale on Jan. 3.