The Thanksgiving Day game between Dallas and Chicago was tied at halftime, but that wasn't enough to keep Bill Parcells from benching rookie quarterback Drew Henson in his first NFL start.
Henson, making his first start at quarterback since the 2001 Citrus Bowl with Michigan, was pulled in favor of the ailing Vinny Testaverde, who has been hampered by a sore throwing shoulder and back.
Testaverde struggled at first, but then led the struggling Cowboys (4-7) to a pair of fourth-quarter scores on the way to a 21-7 victory, their first in four games.
Dallas jumped out to a 7-0 lead on its first possession courtesy of Julius Jones' 33-yard touchdown run. Henson had just one attempt during the series, a 12-yard completion to Quincy Morgan.
The former Wolverines star struggled after that. He made a bad decision on an out pattern that resulted in R.W. McQuarters' 45-yard interception return for a score.
"I thought (Henson) did all right under the circumstances," Parcells said. "He just had a little trouble recognizing some things. There was a tough situation for him. Hopefully he'll grow from there. He needs a lot of work."
Henson finished 4-of-12 for 31 yards. In his NFL debut last week against Baltimore, Henson was 6-for-6 for 47 yards and a touchdown after Testaverde left the game.
The Cowboys acquired Henson from the Houston Texans, who drafted Henson while he was still in the farm system of the New York Yankees.
Chicago was also forced to go to its backup quarterback in the second quarter after starter Craig Krenzel injured his ankle, forcing Jonathan Quinn into duty.
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Henson, making his first start at quarterback since the 2001 Citrus Bowl with Michigan, was pulled in favor of the ailing Vinny Testaverde, who has been hampered by a sore throwing shoulder and back.
Testaverde struggled at first, but then led the struggling Cowboys (4-7) to a pair of fourth-quarter scores on the way to a 21-7 victory, their first in four games.
Dallas jumped out to a 7-0 lead on its first possession courtesy of Julius Jones' 33-yard touchdown run. Henson had just one attempt during the series, a 12-yard completion to Quincy Morgan.
The former Wolverines star struggled after that. He made a bad decision on an out pattern that resulted in R.W. McQuarters' 45-yard interception return for a score.
"I thought (Henson) did all right under the circumstances," Parcells said. "He just had a little trouble recognizing some things. There was a tough situation for him. Hopefully he'll grow from there. He needs a lot of work."
Henson finished 4-of-12 for 31 yards. In his NFL debut last week against Baltimore, Henson was 6-for-6 for 47 yards and a touchdown after Testaverde left the game.
The Cowboys acquired Henson from the Houston Texans, who drafted Henson while he was still in the farm system of the New York Yankees.
Chicago was also forced to go to its backup quarterback in the second quarter after starter Craig Krenzel injured his ankle, forcing Jonathan Quinn into duty.
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