Are the Cowboys starting the wrong quarterback?

Andy Dalton will start for the Cowboys against the Vikings on Sunday, but is that the right call?

Dallas will turn to Dalton for the first time in three weeks. The veteran signal-caller had a concussion, and was then placed on the COVID-19/reserve list shortly thereafter. Even when he was healthy, the Cowboys struggled to contend with Dalton, and the offense often looked sub-par at best. What are the odds that fate changes with him at the helm on Sunday?

Meanwhile, just before the Cowboys bye week, Garrett Gilbert nearly led Dallas to an upset of the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers. Were it not for some defensive lapses late in the game, Gilbert would’ve been the starting quarterback for one of the biggest regular season upsets in recent memory.

Believe it or not, the Cowboys are still in the NFC East race

Dallas is last in the division at 2-7, but that’s only 1.5 games behind the leader, the Philadelphia Eagles. A few timely wins could see Dallas jump straight to first place. So, why not see what Gilbert has to offer? Should he falter, at least the Cowboys are one step closer to a high draft pick. But at this point it’s fairly obvious his ceiling is higher than Dalton’s.

On the other side of the coin, the Cowboys offense could use some stability at the position after weeks of alternating quarterbacks in Dalton, Gilbert and Ben DiNucci. Heck, even Cooper Rush was in the conversation before the Steelers game. At his best, Dalton has shown the ability to lift an offense to near playoff contender status, and Dallas surely has some weapons for him to work with, assuming he’s 100%.

The decision should have been a tough one for Mike McCarthy, but he immediately sided with old reliable in Dalton. We’ll see if that pans out for him.