Jerry Jones stumped by Brandon Weeden's success with Texans

Eric Prisbell | USA TODAY Sports

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Jerry Jones says he has no answer for why Brandon Weeden has played well with the Houston Texans after a rocky tenure with the Dallas Cowboys this season.

“I don’t have an answer for that,” the Cowboys owner told local KRLD-FM radio in Dallas during his regularly scheduled Tuesday morning interview. “I really don’t have an answer.”

Weeden, who was acquired by the Texans after the Cowboys released him last month, played well in relief of injured T.J. Yates in Houston's Dec. 20 win at the Indianapolis Colts. Sunday, he completed 15 of 24 passes and threw two touchdown passes in a 34-6 victory against the Tennessee Titans, putting the Texans on the brink of winning the AFC South.

With the Cowboys, Weeden lost all three starts after replacing injured Tony Romo in a Sept. 20 victory at the Philadelphia Eagles. Dallas then benched him in favor of Matt Cassel.

Weeden did not have star receiver Dez Bryant, who broke his right foot in Week 1, on the field during his starts with the Cowboys. In Houston, he has DeAndre Hopkins to target. But Jones didn’t make any excuses for Weeden’s struggles in Dallas.

“Everybody’s got some strengths on the field and everybody’s got some weaknesses,” Jones said. “Weeden was playing behind an outstanding offensive line here. He was playing with a pretty good running back in (Darren) McFadden. I think it just points out, frankly, that he was deserving of the opportunity.”

Not having a serviceable replacement for Romo was a large reason why the Cowboys (4-11) struggled this season. But Jones emphasized that it was not the only reason.

“I don’t blame it all on the quarterback,” Jones said. “I think we should have won. We should have coached them up enough. We have not done enough things in some of these games that we lost on our way to this record that we could have won. You see other teams doing it, and you see another team doing it with our quarterback (Weeden) that left here and couldn’t do it.”

Weeden told KRXO-FM radio Monday that he will get to play “extra football” in the playoffs while Jones “will be watching on the couch.” In response, Jones said Tuesday that he understands why Weeden might be bitter.

“Well, I think he is,” Jones said before reminding the radio hosts that Weeden said he was “pissed” after being benched.

“I like that,” Jones said. “The thing you wanted from him is competitiveness, caring, really getting in there and getting angst about it, and (being) really passionate about it.”

Jones also said Romo, who broke his left collarbone twice this season, will not have a plate inserted into his collarbone this offseason, barring setbacks in Romo’s recovery.

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