IRVING, Texas – A player who hadn't been with the Cowboys for more than two days was on the field in the fourth quarter as the Eagles tried to keep the game within striking distance.
Sterling Moore joined the Cowboys on Friday from the Patriots' practice squad and answered the call on Sunday when the Cowboys needed an extra defensive back to help on passing downs.
"There's an expression I use around here a lot with guys we picked up during the year," said head coach Jason Garrett. "I say, 'This guy's been here for 15 minutes. You better be able to cover him. You better be able to block him.' Fifteen minutes might be five or six weeks. Well, the Sterling Moore thing was actually 15 minutes. He was here for 15 minutes. He got here about 5 o'clock on Friday afternoon."
Moore played in 14 games for the Patriots the last two seasons. The Cowboys had their eye on the SMU product ever since he left school, and they took the opportunity to snag him after he went to New England's practice squad in early November.
He made one combined tackle in his two snaps Sunday.
"We've liked him," Garrett said. "We've known about him for a while. He's done a good job for the Patriots. We knew about him coming out of school. With the different injuries we've had in the secondary, we felt like he was the best answer for us, a guy who could probably play a little safety if we needed to; a guy who could play corner if we needed him to do that."
Moore picked off two passes in six games last year for the Patriots and recorded 13 combined tackles in eight games this season before being released and signed to the practice squad.
Garrett commended the job secondary coaches Jerome Henderson and Joe Baker did getting Moore ready to contribute in a limited role with such short notice. After watching Moore in pre-game, Garrett knew the cornerback was fired up to play.
"They were doing kind of a ball drill and he literally tackled Gerald Sensabaugh to the ground," Garrett said. "He wasn't understanding the tempo of the drill, but we thought that was a good sign and he did play a couple snaps in the ballgame, was around one of the tackles. He really was a guy we had our eye on. We felt like he was a guy who could come in on short notice and play in a real particular role if we needed him to."
