Everyone loves a good revenge narrative in the NFL, and Week 6 has offered fans quite an intriguing storyline for the Monday Night Football contest between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Dallas Cowboys. Chargers offensive coordinator and former Cowboys play-caller Kellen Moore will be dialing up the X's and O's against his former employer Mike McCarthy and Dallas on Monday night.
And don't think for one second that Moore doesn't have his eyes on revenge, especially given the way his tenure with the Cowboys ended. Current Chargers- and former Cowboys wide receiver Simi Fehoko said that Moore “wants to put up 100 points if he can”, per Daniel Popper of The Athletic.
Chargers' Kellen Moore has revenge on his mind?
“Kellen wants to put up 100 points if he can. And he’s going to keep scoring if he can.”
Fehoko, who played for Moore while both were employed by the Cowboys, sure makes it seem like the Chargers play-caller is taking this one personally.
And why would Moore take this game against McCarthy and the Cowboys personally, you ask?
Look no further than comments made by McCarthy, who took over play-calling duties after Moore and Dallas “agreed to part ways”, back in March at the NFL Scouting Combine, per Popper and The Athletic's Jon Machota.
Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy's shot at Kellen Moore
“Kellen wants to light the scoreboard up. But I want to run the damn ball so I can rest my defense. I think when you’re a coordinator, you know, but you’re in charge of the offense. Being a head coach and being a play caller, you’re a little more in tune with (everything). I don’t desire to be the No. 1 offense in the league. I want to be the No. 1 team in the league with a number of wins and a championship. And if we gotta give up some production and take care of the ball better to get that, then that’s what we’ll do, because we have a really good defense.”
McCarthy seemingly said that Moore cares more about putting up a big number on the scoreboard than actually winning any games.
It wasn't the first time that McCarthy had publicly called out Moore through the media. After a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in September of 2022, McCarthy said the Cowboys, who had just lost quarterback Dak Prescott to a thumb injury, needed to be “a little smarter” in situations on offense.
While Moore may have taken McCarthy's comments as a coaching opportunity for himself, there's no denying that he has plenty of bulletin board material for Monday night's game.
But the Chargers coach has downplayed the revenge narrative.
Kellen Moore addresses “revenge narrative”
Moore said the game is going to be “fun”, denying that he had any added motivation, per Popper. The game might be fun for the Chargers play-caller but a certain very important member of the Cowboys organization, owner Jerry Jones, is not looking forward to it.
Jerry Jones ‘dreading' the matchup vs Moore
Jones, during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan, said that Moore is “one of his favorites” and that he was “dreading seeing him on this occasion.”
While Jones is clearly referring to his close relationship with Moore, he also knows what the Chargers coordinator is capable of, having seen him lift the Cowboys offense to new heights during his three seasons as play-caller there.
The Cowboys defense, which was shredded by the San Francisco 49ers this past week, will want to put a better performance on tape on Monday night.
But Moore, the leader of a Chargers offense that ranks third in total yards and fifth in points per game, will undoubtedly be motivated to show Dallas what they're missing.
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