Replacing one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the league for a division leader on the road in a short week was always going to be a difficult task.
Which made it easy to see Colt McCoy didn’t get it done.
The Washington backup admitted his struggles in his first start since 2014, throwing three interceptions in a loss to the Cowboys. Those stood in start contrast since Alex Smith had thrown five in the 38 quarters he played this year before he was lost for the season to a broken leg.
“You can’t turn the ball over in the division on the road and expect to come out on top,” McCoy said, via Peter Hailey of NBC Sports Washington. “I take full responsibility for that.”
Of course, there were plenty of mitigating factors which made his job more difficult, including the lack of a productive running game, the injuries that took a lot of his offensive help away from him, and the lack of a true day of practice before going to Dallas.
“Walkthroughs are like watching tape,” McCoy said. “Not a whole lot goes on out there. . . .
“There’s little things throughout the game that came up because I just hadn’t had a whole lot of reps with those guys.”
He has plenty of time before playing the Eagles next Monday, which will remove one of the excuses. But if Washington is going to salvage the season (and they’re still tied for the top of a bad division), McCoy can’t continue to make mistakes at an anti-Smith rate.