As the 2004 season has disintegrated for the Dallas Cowboys, much of the blame has been heaped on 41-year-old quarterback Vinny Testaverde. The grizzled veteran fell into the Dallas starting job during the preseason when Quincy Carter was suddenly released after a failed drug test. The more games Testaverde lost, the louder the calls in Dallas became to hand the reins to rookie Drew Henson, the once-heralded Michigan quarterback whose rights cost the Cowboys next year’s third-round pick.

This week, those calling for Testaverde’s head may have finally gotten their wish. Vinny struggled mightily in a 30-10 loss to Baltimore, throwing for just 109 yards with two interceptions. Bill Parcells finally replaced him with Henson in the fourth quarter, and the rookie responded by producing the Cowboys’ only touchdown of the day.

If Testaverde’s stint as the starter is over, his turn as scapegoat is hopefully over as well. Sunday was not a good game, but Testaverde was facing the NFL’s top defense; Baltimore had kept offensive juggernauts like Kansas City and Philadelphia to passing performances far below their usual standards as well. In reality, Testaverde far outperformed expectations this season as the Cowboys collapsed around him.

The worry about Dallas before the season was that the outstanding young defense would not be able to cover for the aged, declining players on offense, particularly Testaverde. Only one quarterback over the age of 39 has ever thrown for even 2,000 yards in a season: Warren Moon with the 1997 Seattle Seahawks.

Even if he doesn’t play another down this season, Testaverde has already become the second. With 2,414 yards in 10 games, he would be on pace to top Moon’s 1997 season with nearly 4,000 yards if he continued as the starter. That same pace would give Testaverde the same number of interceptions (21) as Carter had for Dallas last season, but with a higher completion percentage and more yards per pass. Even after Sunday’s dismal performance, Testaverde’s passer rating of 79.8 is higher than that of Jake Delhomme, Matt Hasselbeck, and 14 other quarterbacks who have thrown at least 100 passes this year.

But while Testaverde has led an improved passing game, everything else about the Cowboys has been terrible. Testaverde has passed for all those yards despite having no running game to take the pressure off his receivers. Eddie George, determined to prove Tennessee wrong for letting him go in the off-season, has instead proven them absolutely correct by averaging a dismal 3.3 yards per carry and failing to run for over 100 yards in a game.

George’s problems were expected, but the defense’s were not. The Dallas defense topped the NFL in 2003 by allowing only 253 yards per game, but it has completely broken down in 2004. The Cowboys have gone from allowing 4.3 yards per play and only 22.1 yards per drive to allowing 5.9 yards per play and 33.9 yards per drive.

Unfortunately, while Testaverde is not really to blame for Dallas’s lost season, he is the one who must suffer the consequences. A 41-year-old quarterback playing at a reasonable level remains a 41-year-old quarterback. With a 3-7 record and no shot at the playoffs, Dallas needs to be looking to the future, and that means giving Henson the keys to see if he can learn to drive the car.

Henson is a classic drop-back passer, but one with the athletic ability to make plays outside the pocket. In his brief stint on Sunday he showed flashes of the form that made him the potential no. 1 pick in the 2001 NFL draft. Then again, the Ravens were up 30-3, and didn’t exactly try to frustrate him. In the long term, Henson seems poised for success; in the short term, he’ll struggle as he shakes off three years of rust and constantly plays from behind.

Will Henson’s emergence mark the end of Testaverde’s career? It shouldn’t. Testaverde is ill-cast as the starting quarterback for a young team with a struggling defense and no running game. But he can still play the role that he played the past two years with the Jets: a veteran backup and safety net for a younger starter.

Put aside, for a moment, first-round draft picks like J.P. Losman and Philip Rivers, who are currently on the bench waiting for their NFL careers to begin in earnest. How many NFL general managers would prefer their current backup quarterback to Testaverde?

For most, Testaverde would certainly represent an improvement over the players currently riding the bench, or worse, forced into the starting lineup. Would Chicago’s young defense be in playoff contention if Testaverde had been there to pick up the offense when Rex Grossman was lost for the season? Might Testaverde be having better luck connecting with a young receiver corps in Arizona than Josh McCown and Shaun King?

And – the thought that flows through the minds of all Jets fans – would Gang Green be in less danger of falling out of the playoff hunt if Testaverde were filling in for the injured Chad Pennington?

Testaverde is the victim of the most reliable fan response in football. When a team posts loss after loss, it is always easiest to blame the quarterback, even if he is the only player on the team whose performance has not diminished. Steve Grogan, longtime fan favorite as a New England second stringer, always noted that the most popular player on the team is the backup quarterback. Testaverde couldn’t agree more, and would happily be the most popular on some other NFL team next season.

Mr. Schatz is the editor in chief of FootballOutsiders.com.