Behind Lance, Cowboys win, 27-12

The Dallas Cowboys traded for Trey Lance last season in hopes they could tap into the talent that made him the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. In this preseason matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, he finally gave a glimpse of that potential.

Entering the game in the second quarter, Lance would lead the Cowboys to a 27-12 victory over the Raiders behind a pair of scoring drives. He completed 15 of 23 passes on the night for 151 yards and a touchdown to finish with a 98.3 passer rating. Just for good measure, he also added a rushing touchdown and tied for the team lead with 34 yards on the ground.

Overall, the Cowboys recorded 294 yards of offense, which included 137 rushing yards as a group. Deuce Vaughn sat out the preseason opener at the Rams due to injury, but he made up for it with an impressive showing in Las Vegas. The second-year man shook and shifted for 34 yards on five carries, an impressive 6.8 yards per carry average.

Mike Zimmer’s defense again was effective. While the unit allowed the Raiders to total 315 yards of offense, Dallas only allowed one touchdown for the second straight week. Cornerback Andrew Booth led the Cowboys with eight tackles with safety Juanyeh Thomas shining in limited action with a pair of pass breakups.

First Quarter
Although the Raiders began the game with their first-stringers while Dallas went largely with backups, the reserves held their own against the starters. In fact, after stopping Vegas on a fourth-and-3 at the Cowboys’ 47-yard line, starting quarterback Cooper Rush then moved his side close enough to allow Brandon Aubrey to kick a 54-yard field goal for an early 3-0 lead.

The game was soon tied, though. The Raiders started their possession at the 40-yard line after Aubrey’s kickoff went out of bounds. On their first snap, quarterback Gardner Minshew then connected with Tre Tucker on a deep post pattern for a 48-yard gain. The Cowboys defense held its ground, though, as Vegas settled for a 29-yard field goal.

Second Quarter
Despite the Raiders starters still being in the game, the Dallas defense forced a three-and-out on Vegas’ first series of the second quarter. But on the ensuing punt, a booming 69-yarder, returner Jalen Cropper fumbled the ball with the home side recovering at the Cowboys’ 23-yard line.

The defense again did its job, though. The Raiders decided to go for it on fourth-and-5 at the Dallas 18, but Minshew’s pass sailed high, the Cowboys taking over on downs.

Lance came in at the start of the second quarter, but his first two series resulted in three-and-outs. And special teams again had its difficulties. This time the Raiders’ Tucker found a lane down the left sideline and was able to return the punt 43 yards. With a 5-yard penalty on Dallas tacked on, Vegas was back in business at the Cowboys’ 28-yard line.

The Dallas defense again did its job, but this time the Raiders decided to take the easy points, kicking a 27-yard field goal for a 6-3 lead.

However, Lance came back and displayed some of that talent that warranted the Cowboys taking a chance on him. He completed all five of his pass attempts for 34 yards, and ran for a first down on third-and-1 at the Raiders’ 8-yard line. The last of his throws was a perfect 1-yard fade to Ryan Flournoy in the back right corner of the end zone for the Cowboys’ first touchdown of the preseason

But Lance and company weren’t done yet. Getting the ball back at his own 14-yard line with 28 seconds left, the young quarterback threw a pair of 8-yard passes to tight end John Stephens, scrambled for a 2-yard gain, and then took off on a 20-yard scamper before calling a timeout with 1 second left.

That gave Aubrey a chance to try a 66-yard field goal, and his kick went right down the middle to give Dallas a 13-6 advantage at the half.

Third Quarter
Unfortunately, the lead was soon cut to one. After the Cowboys were forced to punt on their first possession of the third frame, the Raiders marched 57 yards in 13 plays for the score. The touchdown came on a 5-yard pass from Aidan O’Connell to tight end Harrison Bryant, but when the pair tried to connect again on the two-point conversion, the toss fell incomplete.

Fourth Quarter
The Raiders were on the move when the clock ticked into the final quarter, the home side lined up at the Dallas 35-yard line for the first play of the fourth. But Cowboys cornerback Kemon Hall stepped in front of another O’Connell pass attempt to Bryant and took the interception back 69 yards for a pick-6.

With the Dallas defense continuing to take care of business, Lance’s night just kept getting better. He later took the offense on a 13-play, 88-yard drive that saw him complete passes of 17, 15, 12 and 30 yards, but took the scoring honors himself, dashing up the middle on a quarterback draw from 2 yards out for the touchdown to wrap up the scoring, 27-12.