Kellen Moore wants to score “100 points” against the Cowboys in MNF

Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator Kellen Moore claims there is no additional motivation for him ahead of one Monday Night Football matchup against his former team, the Dallas Cowboys.

“It’s obviously fun,” Moore said Friday about the game against the Cowboys. “I spent eight years there, so there are a lot of relationships there that you love and value, a lot of people that you are close to and will stay close to for a long time. It will be fun to see all these people.. but after that aspect you just have to come to a football game.”

Some Chargers players may have a slightly different opinion.

Moore, a former NFL quarterback, spent the final three seasons of his playing career in Dallas before transitioning to coaching. The 35-year-old was the Cowboys’ quarterbacks coach in 2018 and their offensive coordinator from 2019 until the end of last season.

After another early playoff exit, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy announced a “mutual decision to part ways” with Moore in January. Within hours, Moore was named the Chargers’ new offensive coordinator. The Chargers (2-2) host the Cowboys (3-2) in a primetime matchup on Monday at 8:15 p.m. ET. Moore doesn’t publicly call this a revenge game. Not close. But some players in the Chargers’ locker room seem to see it that way.

“Kellen wants to score 100 points if he can,” Chargers receiver Simi Fehoko, who previously played under Moore in Dallas, said via The Athletic. “And he’ll continue to score when he can.”

According to Moore, during Moore’s four years as offensive coordinator and player-caller, the Cowboys ranked second in the league in total offense (391.0 yards per game) and scoring (27.7 points per game). Associated Press.

Moore served as Dak Prescott’s backup QB and mentor during his first two seasons in the NFL. Then, as coach, Moore helped Prescott set the Cowboys’ franchise record with 37 passing touchdowns in 2021, becoming one of the highest-paid players in the NFL.

“He’s more than a coach,” Prescott said of Moore earlier this week. “Of course he was a teammate turned coach, but he is a friend. A friend for life. I spoke to him at the beginning of the year and wished him luck, but obviously we had our own things and had our hands full. It’ll be great when I see him sometime on Monday.

Even after Mike McCarthy was hired as head coach before the 2020 season, Moore retained control of play calling. The former Super Bowl-winning coach of the Green Bay Packers had previously expressed his desire to always call his teams’ games. McCarthy is back on offense this season with Moore in Los Angeles.

But the Cowboys’ season isn’t going quite as planned.

McCarthy and the Cowboys are coming off the franchise’s worst loss since 2013 – a 42-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. After five games, the Cowboys rank 17th in the NFL in yards per game (327.4) and sixth in points (26.8). However, the latter statistic takes into account three defensive touchdowns and a special teams score. According to ESPN, the Cowboys have scored touchdowns on just seven of 19 red zone possessions, tied for the fifth-worst touchdowns in the NFL.

Prescott’s QB rating (87.5) and passing yards per game (212.2) are his worst since his second year in the NFL. The two-time Pro Bowler is also averaging 17 touchdown passes and averaging 6.6 yards per pass attempt, which would be career lows for a full season.

The Chargers, fresh off a bye week, rank fifth in the NFL in points per game and third in yards per game while also having the fewest turnovers in the league.

Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones and McCarthy decided to move on from Moore after losing to the 49ers in the playoffs for the second straight year last season. But that doesn’t mean the three-time Super Bowl champion is thrilled to see Moore coaching elsewhere.

“I was dreading seeing Kellen on this occasion,” Jones joked during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Friday. “As far as individual players go, Kellen is one of my favorites. He’s a talented coach, we can’t be mistaken about that.”