Cassel's Best Day as a Cowboy Spoiled by Pick-Six, OT Loss

Matt Cassel had his best game as a Cowboy on Sunday night, but the 2015 season going as it is, it had to be spoiled. And it was, first by Cassel’s big mistake of the night--a short third quarter pass that was intercepted by Jordan Hicks and returned for a touchdown, the second pick-six Cassel has thrown in three starts--and, ultimately, the overtime loss.

Cassel finished 25-of-38 passing for 299 yards, three touchdowns and the pick. His passer rating was 105.0, a full 42 points higher than his mark in either of his first two starts, and his Total QBR was 59.8, up from 41 against the Seahawks and 17.9 against the Giants. The interception hurt, but Cassel and co. were able to bounce back at the time.

“They were playing two-high defense, we had a combination route. I don’t think I threw it behind him or anything,” Cassel told the team’s official website. “(Hicks) just made a good play on the ball. He cut it and unfortunately it turned out to be a pick-six. Sometimes those plays happen. They have good players on defense. I was happy at how we responded, though. That’s the biggest thing. When you play this game, it’s about how you respond and I think everyone kind of rallied. We went back and said we had to score, and that’s what we did.”

Indeed, on the third play of the drive following the pick-six, Cassel tossed a Hail Mary to Dez Bryant in the end zone. Bryant leaped over everyone, made the play and the game, for the moment, was tied.

“I was exactly throwing it to Dez, there’s no doubt about that,” Cassel joked. “That’s where I wanted to throw it.”