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Brandon Weeden responds late but can't stop his losing streak
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
NEW ORLEANS – Brandon Weeden nearly had his moment. He did what few thought possible with the Dallas Cowboys 91 yards away from a game-tying touchdown and 4:05 to play.
With 1:51 to play, Weeden hit Terrance Williams in the back corner of the end zone on fourth down for a 17-yard touchdown. It was a gutsy throw on a drive filled with gutsy throws.
His first pass was knocked down at the line of scrimmage, but then he hit Williams for 24 yards. He followed that with a seam route to Jason Witten for 28 yards and a 19-yard completion to Cole Beasley in the slot. The Cowboys were 17 yards away from the Saints’ end zone before the two-minute warning after another short completion to Beasley.
On third down, he missed Williams in the left corner of the end zone. On fourth down, he floated a pass perfectly to the pylon and Williams made the diving grab.
“We practice that play all the time,” Williams said. “Brandon threw it up there perfectly.”
In the third quarter Weeden missed Williams on similar throws to the end zone after a 67-yard catch by Brice Butler to the New Orleans 9. He and Williams got together and said if they faced that situation again, he would throw it deeper to allow Williams to run under it.
“We knew coming in they’re a physical group,” Weeden said. “They’re going to hold you, grab, pull, tug. That’s the way they play. I just put a little more air on that one down there. I was trying to throw a perfect ball on those other ones. I should've just thrown it to the back pylon and let the guys run through it. I told them my plan and finally hit one.”
It was the last pass Weeden would throw. The Cowboys lost the coin toss to start overtime, and Drew Brees won it on the second play of the extra session with an 80-yard touchdown to C.J. Spiller.
For Weeden there would be no more heroics and no chance to stop his personal losing streak, now at 10 games.
He completed 16 of 26 passes for 246 yards and the touchdown. He was not intercepted and he was sacked three times.
“I thought he did really good and he did good all night,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. “When he took his initial look he threw it, and he did all night. He does some real good things, though it’s not quite apples to oranges when the other guy on the other side is Brees and you’re dealing with a guy that is as limited as Weeden.”
Weeden was further limited when the Cowboys lost running back Lance Dunbar to a knee injury. They lost Butler to a hamstring strain after his 67-yard catch. The Cowboys could only use so many personnel groupings because of injuries.
But when it mattered most, Weeden responded.
“We work that two-minute drill more than anybody in the league,” Weeden said. “We rep it and rep it offensively and defensively and it paid off for us there. That was obviously the bright spot. We can take a lot from it. We got a lot of guys to make plays. I think Terrance had a couple catches. Witt had a big one. Bease had one. A bunch of guys made plays there. Definitely a bright spot.
“In the end it’s kind of bittersweet because we have that kick-in-the-gut feeling.”
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
NEW ORLEANS – Brandon Weeden nearly had his moment. He did what few thought possible with the Dallas Cowboys 91 yards away from a game-tying touchdown and 4:05 to play.
With 1:51 to play, Weeden hit Terrance Williams in the back corner of the end zone on fourth down for a 17-yard touchdown. It was a gutsy throw on a drive filled with gutsy throws.
His first pass was knocked down at the line of scrimmage, but then he hit Williams for 24 yards. He followed that with a seam route to Jason Witten for 28 yards and a 19-yard completion to Cole Beasley in the slot. The Cowboys were 17 yards away from the Saints’ end zone before the two-minute warning after another short completion to Beasley.
On third down, he missed Williams in the left corner of the end zone. On fourth down, he floated a pass perfectly to the pylon and Williams made the diving grab.
“We practice that play all the time,” Williams said. “Brandon threw it up there perfectly.”
In the third quarter Weeden missed Williams on similar throws to the end zone after a 67-yard catch by Brice Butler to the New Orleans 9. He and Williams got together and said if they faced that situation again, he would throw it deeper to allow Williams to run under it.
“We knew coming in they’re a physical group,” Weeden said. “They’re going to hold you, grab, pull, tug. That’s the way they play. I just put a little more air on that one down there. I was trying to throw a perfect ball on those other ones. I should've just thrown it to the back pylon and let the guys run through it. I told them my plan and finally hit one.”
It was the last pass Weeden would throw. The Cowboys lost the coin toss to start overtime, and Drew Brees won it on the second play of the extra session with an 80-yard touchdown to C.J. Spiller.
For Weeden there would be no more heroics and no chance to stop his personal losing streak, now at 10 games.
He completed 16 of 26 passes for 246 yards and the touchdown. He was not intercepted and he was sacked three times.
“I thought he did really good and he did good all night,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. “When he took his initial look he threw it, and he did all night. He does some real good things, though it’s not quite apples to oranges when the other guy on the other side is Brees and you’re dealing with a guy that is as limited as Weeden.”
Weeden was further limited when the Cowboys lost running back Lance Dunbar to a knee injury. They lost Butler to a hamstring strain after his 67-yard catch. The Cowboys could only use so many personnel groupings because of injuries.
But when it mattered most, Weeden responded.
“We work that two-minute drill more than anybody in the league,” Weeden said. “We rep it and rep it offensively and defensively and it paid off for us there. That was obviously the bright spot. We can take a lot from it. We got a lot of guys to make plays. I think Terrance had a couple catches. Witt had a big one. Bease had one. A bunch of guys made plays there. Definitely a bright spot.
“In the end it’s kind of bittersweet because we have that kick-in-the-gut feeling.”