Colt McCoy comes home to Texas, seeking Redskins win over Cowboys
ARLINGTON, Texas – Colt McCoy silenced his phone knowing he was coming back to his home state for his first NFL start in four years, in the stadium where he helped lead the Texas Longhorns to a shot at a national title as their star quarterback and where he last won a game as a pro.
The longtime Washington backup also knows what’s most important as he takes over following Alex Smith’s season-ending leg injury . The Redskins (6-4) can control the NFC East by beating the rival Dallas Cowboys (5-5) in the most traditional of Thanksgiving games Thursday.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity, but I think it’s even more than that,” McCoy said. “It’s time to just go play and put everything else aside. We have a huge game this week. It’s a huge game.”
McCoy is 2-0 at AT&T Stadium, beating Nebraska for the 2009 Big 12 championship and a spot in the BCS championship game, which Texas lost to Alabama when McCoy got hurt early. The small-town Texas kid beat the Cowboys five years later, completing 25 of 30 passes for 299 yards in a 20-17 overtime win for the Redskins.
He’s 32 now, and hasn’t started since the last of three straight defeats late in the 2014 season, a little more than a month removed from that win over the Cowboys. McCoy, a third-round pick by Cleveland in 2010 after that title-game loss to the Crimson Tide, has a career record of 7-18.
McCoy is in his fifth year as Washington’s backup and has played just four games over four seasons, including when he replaced Smith in the third quarter of Sunday’s 23-21 loss to Houston. A potential winning drive stalled near midfield, and Dustin Hopkins’ 63-yard field goal try fell short with 3 seconds left.
“It’s been a while since he’s played in a significant game. That’ll be the challenge,” coach Jay Gruden said.
“I know he’s excited as heck, man. He hated to get the opportunity the way he got it with Alex getting hurt. I understand that. But deep down inside, he’s been waiting for this.”
Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott has been waiting for another Thanksgiving game since he had to miss last year on his six-game suspension over domestic violence allegations. In his Thanksgiving debut against the Redskins two years ago as a rookie, he jumped into the giant Salvation Army red kettle after a touchdown in a 31-26 Dallas win.
The Cowboys have a chance to tie the Redskins for the division lead thanks to their first winning streak of the season, a pair of victories on the road after they were winless in their first four away from home.
“We said this a couple weeks ago, though; we knew that the division was still in front of us,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “Our backs are still against the wall. We know what this game means. We know how important this game is.”