IRVING, Texas – Sunday's game against Atlanta wasn't just a missed opportunity for the Cowboys to improve to 3-0. Had he held on to win, it would have been Brandon Weeden's first win as a starter since Dec. 9, 2012.
Asked Wednesday if he was aware of that fact, Weeden said it's not something he's paid much attention to.
"I'm not, but I haven't played a ton of games, either," he said.
That's a fair point. The Week 3 loss to the Falcons was Weeden's first start of 2015 and just his second start with the Cowboys. He started 15 games as a rookie in 2012 with the Cleveland Browns, but he's made just seven combined starts in the three years since.
The fact remains: after that 39-28 loss last weekend, Weeden is winless in his last nine attempts as a starter – the last winning effort being a 30-7 result against Kansas City with the Browns.
"That's not good," Weeden said. "I was in Cleveland, and I don't even like talking about it -- those days are long gone."
Another valid point. The Cleveland teams Weeden played for finished 5-11 and 4-12, respectively, while his current Cowboys squad has legitimate playoff ambitions. Even with Dez Bryant sitting out of the lineup, it's probably fair to say Weeden finds himself in a better situation trying to snap his losing streak in Dallas.
"Going back to Cleveland, seven of those are in Cleveland. We've talked long and hard about those days," he said. "I've learned a lot from them, and now I'm worried about what I can do this week to get back on the right track."
If he can do that this Sunday at the Mercedez-Benz Superdome, Weeden will be capturing something that's been quite elusive for him. In nine career road starts, he is just 1-8, managing a 20-17 win at Oakland in his rookie year.
With that goal in mind, Weeden said his job is to improve on last week's performance, mainly by limiting the number of mistakes made in a hostile road environment.
"My main focus is to take care of the football and eliminate – like the boneheaded play last week – eliminate those and continue to get those completions, continue to get the ball into guys' hands and let them make plays after the catch," he said. "We've got good, explosive players, and my job is just to get the ball into their hands and let them do work."
