DALLAS – The season did not play out the way Washington Redskins backup quarterback Colt McCoy had hoped, not for himself at least. That hasn’t stopped McCoy from trying to help -- and he finally got a chance to do so on the field.
McCoy threw his first passes of the season in Washington’s 34-23 season finale win at Dallas, relieving starter Kirk Cousins in the second quarter. McCoy completed 7 of 11 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown, catching his stride after initial struggles -- which weren't surprising since he hadn't thrown a pass in a game since the preseason.
For McCoy, the 2015 season did not play out the way he once envisioned, but he’s not sulking, instead taking an active role in the meeting rooms and more.
“We all want to play,” McCoy said. “The last thing I ever want to do is take away from our team’s success. I’ve just tried to find ways to help our team behind the scenes as much as I can -- help Kirk, help the receivers, give our scout team a good look for our defense and find ways to improve. I really like this offense; you can see that once I got a few series I felt right back in tune.”
McCoy re-signed with Washington last offseason, hoping he would have a good chance to compete for a starting job. Robert Griffin III was named the starter early in the offseason, but coaches harped on Cousins’ improvement over the offseason and eventually gave him the job. McCoy ended up as the No. 2 quarterback.
McCoy would have ended last season as the starter had he not gotten hurt in the final two games.
“I was playing good football last year,” McCoy said. “I didn’t really lose my job. I felt good coming into the season. It played out like it did. I’m not going to be the one to cause a scene. I wanted to do completely the opposite. Regardless of how I felt about the situation I wanted to help Kirk. I’m really happy for what we’ve done offensively. We just have so many weapons. The line is playing great. Kirk is playing great.”
McCoy threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Rashad Ross down the right sideline -- he had overthrown Ross earlier in the game.
“You look at our offense and we have unbelievable talent,” McCoy said. “We are very underrated and when teams want to play man, we’re just going to make it work. I mean, we’ve got weapons. [Offensive coordinator Sean McVay] does an unbelievable job of putting us in the right situations, having a feel for calling the game. He and Kirk are on the same page. It’s been fun to watch.”