Before the Dallas Cowboys’ game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday night, it seemed as though Trey Lance’s career as a Cowboy was in jeopardy. That might sound exaggerated, and it might seem like a lot of pressure to put on one preseason game, but those feelings were brought about by certain events.
There were more questions than answers following Lance’s inconsistent performances on the Oxnard, California, practice grounds. His performance at last week’s preseason opener at SoFi Stadium expressed more pessimism than excitement. With just a few more padded workouts and one home preseason game left, it might have been too late to salvage the situation if Lance performed poorly in Vegas. Lance may have been spared by Jerry Jones succumbing to the sunk-cost fallacy, but it is unlikely that the prospect of his ceiling would have.
Luckily for Lance, the Cowboys’ 27-12 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders included enough of his potential to keep things lively.
“Two 14-play drives, that’s incredible for preseason football,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said of Lance’s performance. “It just shows you his understanding and confidence, and he just needs to continue to play. He just needs reps. He needs to play in live games, particularly in the drop-back phase because he’s doing a very good job managing everything else. I thought he clearly took a step today.”
Trey for 6️⃣
— NFL (@NFL) August 18, 2024
📺: #DALvsLV on @NFLNetwork
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Lance’s difficulty sorting through his reads following the snap has been one of his criticisms. There are moments when it seems that Lance moves through his progressions too quickly, missing important readings in the process. On other occasions, it seems as though he reads the pass too slowly, giving defenders ample time to adjust to open receivers. Although Lance’s running skills has saved him in a few of those scenarios, it is difficult to hide the fact that the play’s final score was not as horrible as it could have been.
Lance did better in that area against the Raiders, particularly as the game went on. Lance led the Cowboys with seven running attempts for 34 yards, so his running decisions felt more deliberate than just a crutch. He dispersed the ball, making at least one pass to eight of the 14 players he targeted. His touchdown pass to youngster Ryan Flournoy was a wonderful touch pass on a nice route; it was the same kind of pass that Lance was unable to complete to Jalen Cropper the previous week.
“I just tried to take everything one step at a time,” Lance said. “I definitely felt more comfortable. I think that was a big part of it. Just going to try to build on it next week.”
Halfway in the second quarter of the preseason, Lance went on his first touchdown drive of the game. The Cowboys got strong runs from Royce Freeman and Deuce Vaughn on five of the opening seven plays. Lance felt more at ease and at ease after that. Lance was involved in four of the final seven plays of the drive: three passes and one scramble to turn a third-and-one. The 1-yard touchdown pass to Flournoy sealed the deal.
Trey Lance throws a touchdown to put Dallas ahead 🙌
— NFL (@NFL) August 18, 2024
📺: #DALvsLV on @NFLNetwork
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Lance’s accuracy has also been criticized. He misthrew his receivers a lot last week against the Los Angeles Rams. It would be a stretch to suggest that Lance’s accuracy problems vanished versus the Raiders. He missed a few throws, one of which was an inside pass to Cropper on a third-and-five on his second drive. Cropper was in position to make a catch, but the throw was behind, which resulted in a punt.
Lance, though, was more adept at throwing passes that receivers could grab and then use to their advantage. Lance completed 151 yards on 15 of 23 attempts. According to TruMedia, receivers gained 78 yards after the catch, accounting for more than half of the total yardage. Lance deserves praise for his ability to complete passes that let the receivers show off their skills with the ball in their hands. Lance’s passing game took a positive turn overall, but he still has to work on his downfield passing.
Considering he is a third-string quarterback, Lance is receiving exceptional attention. He has little control over many of those causes. Though he does, Lance did not ask to take on the burden of what the San Francisco 49ers gave up in order to select him third in the 2021 selection. In exchange for him, the Cowboys forfeited a fourth-round pick, which was a fair price for a young quarterback with untapped potential who appeared slightly more expensive due to other quarterback transactions made throughout the league.
Lance can’t control those perceptions. He also can’t control that, because of Dak Prescott’s contract situation, some only grade his performances based on his potential to be a QB1. His natural next step — should he progress — is to be active on game day as QB2.
Preseason games are rather arbitrary in their meaning. These are little steps that many players see as impediments to the real testing that come with the start of the regular season. Some consider these games to be their own Super Bowls.
Against the Raiders, Lance did not dazzle, but he did not have to. He only needed to perform well enough to gain some time before his next Super Bowl, which will take place on Saturday at AT&T Stadium against the Los Angeles Chargers in the preseason finale. He succeeded in doing it.
(Photo: Chris Unger / Getty Images)
