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Kellen Moore's NFL debut has its ups and downs

The former Detroit Lions backup quarterback's playing career is off to a rocky start.

By Jeremy Reisman
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Former Detroit Lions backup quarterback, Kellen Moore, finally got his chance in Saturday night's game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets.

Moore was on the Lions' roster since 2012, but never saw any regular season action. The Lions finally parted ways with Moore, cutting the Boise State graduate back in September.

After Matt Cassel threw an interception and played ineffectively through three drives in Saturday's game, Moore entered the game early in the second quarter. His day got off to a bad start, as his second pass of the day was an ugly interception on a very bad decision:

After the pick, Moore settled in and started to play respectable football. To end the first half, Moore drove the Cowboys 55 yards (aided by a bad horsecollar penalty), and threw for his first career NFL touchdown, putting Dallas up 10-9 at halftime.

For the rest of the game, Moore struggled to lead the Cowboys down the field. One of Moore's most successful drives -- and 7 play, 76 yard drive -- ended with a red-zone interception from Moore, on an ill-advised pass into double coverage.

Still, Moore eventually led the Cowboys to a game-tying field goal with just under two minutes remaining. After the Jets quickly responded, Moore had 36 seconds and no timeouts to get the 'boys back in field goal position. But on his second play of the drive, Moore heaved a desperation pass as far as he could, and it was picked off by one of four Jets defenders waiting for it.

In the end, Moore finished 15-25 for 158 yards, 1 touchdown, 3 interception and a 52.2 passer rating. That may not be the debut Moore nor his die-hard fans wanted, but Kellen finally got his chance.

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