A Dallas Cowboys season that was already bad has gotten worse.
Quarterback Andy Dalton, starting his second game for an injured Dak Prescott, was forced to the locker room in the third quarter against the Washington Football Team after taking a big hit from linebacker Jon Bostic on a third-down scramble.
Dalton went straight to the locker room and later was ruled out for the game after being diagnosed with a concussion. Bostic was ejected.
According to a team spokesman, Dalton is alert and doing much better now than he was when he came off the field following the hit. He is in “good spirits,” and will fly home with the Cowboys.
Dalton was replaced by rookie Ben DiNucci, a seventh-round pick, who saw one series of action in last week’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Before the injury, Dalton completed 9 of 19 passes for 75 yards. He was sacked three times and fumbled on the Cowboys’ first possession, leading to a safety. He had one pass intercepted on a throw that was behind Ezekiel Elliott and tipped into Washington linebacker Cole Holcomb’s hands.
The Cowboys’ third quarterback, Garrett Gilbert, who joined the team last week, is inactive. Tight end Blake Bell was a quarterback at Oklahoma, so he could serve as the team’s backup.
The last time the Cowboys had to use three quarterbacks in a season because of injury came in 2015. Tony Romo, who suffered a twice-broken right collarbone, started and finished just two games. The Cowboys also had Brandon Weeden, Matt Cassel and Kellen Moore, their current offensive coordinator, start games in that 4-12 season.