5 best backup quarterbacks in Dallas Cowboys history

Jun 01, 2023

• The Cowboys might have one less trophy without Bernie Kosar

• Jon Kitna was a trusted sounding board and could still play

• Jason Garrett had one of the most memorable games in Cowboys history

Born in Youngstown, Ohio, Bernie Kosar made no secret of the fact that he wanted to play for his hometown Cleveland Browns. After a somewhat controversial move to get into the Supplemental Draft, that dream became a reality.

Kosar joined the Browns in 1985 and was a starter by the end of his rookie campaign. He held that job until 1993 when Bill Belichick decided to replace him with Vinny Testaverde. Kosar was then released and landed with the Dallas Cowboys who needed a veteran backup.

His first appearance came during his first week with the team as Kosar started Week 9 as the backup for Dallas. He replaced Jason Garrett and led Dallas to a win over the Phoenix Cardinals. In the victory, Kosar was 13-of-21 for 199 yards with a touchdown. He started the following week, which was a loss to Atlanta but when it mattered the most, Kosar really stepped up.

Troy Aikman was knocked out of the second half of the 1993 NFC Championship Game and Kosar came in to replace him. He was able to keep the red-hot 49ers from catching up as he was 5-of-9 for 83 yards with a touchdown pass to Alvin Harper that put the game on ice.

Early in the second half of the 1993 NFC Championship, #Cowboys QB Troy Aikman gets knocked out of the game with a concussion.Backup Bernie Kosar orchestrates two scoring drives to preserve a 38-21 victory over SF.DAL: first team to start season 0-2 and make the Super Bowl pic.twitter.com/COUqhzs6tH

Kosar left in the offseason and signed with the Miami Dolphins to back up Dan Marino. That meant his stay in Dallas was roughly two months but they might not have won their second Super Bowl in a row without his help.

Head coach Jimmy Johnson understood his importance as well, allowing Kosar to take the final kneel-down in their Super Bowl win.