LAS VEGAS — Trey Lance is not completely pleased with his performance for the Dallas Cowboys against the Las Vegas Raiders in the second outing of the preseason. That's a testament to his maturity when you consider that, while not perfect, he was markedly better than his preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams — on all fronts.
Lance looked more decisive, more trusting in his reads and arm talent and, above all, more comfortable; and that's no coincidence when considering his battle with the Rams was his first live action in nearly 18 months.
"I definitely felt more comfortable coming out, just need to start a little bit faster — in the third quarter, for sure," said Lance after the 27-12 victory at Allegiant Stadium. "I left some plays out there but I learned a lot again from it, and it's fun to compete with these guys."
He finished the Rams off having thrown for 151 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions on 15 attempts (98.3 passer rating), and then added seven carries for 34 yards and a touchdown on the ground; and a win that followed an offensive struggle in Los Angeles.
Yeah, that'll do.
"Ryan [Flournoy] killed him," he said of the passing touchdown just ahead of halftime. "It was like a long handoff. Great job by Ryan. Super excited for him to get his first one. … I would've loved to get that [same play call involving Jalen Cropper in the end zone] today.
"It's a different situation but, like I said, Ryan killed him and made it super, super easy on that throw."
It appeared the former third-overall pick was processing more quickly than six days prior on several of his drives in Las Vegas, but Lance doesn't necessarily see it that way — haunted by the plays he didn't make versus enjoying the ones that he did.
"I think I left some out there for sure, particularly in the third quarter, are some that are fresh in my mind right now," he explained. "I felt good going into it, and guys made a ton of plays today."
What's also true, however, is that Lance is growing week to week and that includes practice as well, coming off of what was arguably his best practice of camp thus far, then parlaying that into his best showing of the preseason with one game to go.
"I don't know if there's anything specific," Lance said of his biggest takeaway from the loss to the Rams. "I just tried to take everything one step at a time, but I definitely felt more comfortable. I think that was a big part of it. I'm just gonna try and build on it next week. It feels good to win.
"I love competing with these guys … I'm all about it. The guys are out there competing their butts off every snap, from the O-line to the receivers. I think we had a good offense, defense and special teams day."
There is no shortage of pressure on Lance to improve and he's doing exactly that, but his journey is far from over as he readily confesses he needs to build on what happened in Las Vegas and not roll the dice and risk complacency when the Cowboys are evaluating his every move on the field.
"I feel good," said Lance. "I'm glad we got the win. I think that's the most important thing to me. I'm gonna watch the tape and learn from it and do the same exact thing next week."
That is indeed the equation for Lance, and he's beginning to solve it.
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The Cowboys will host 2024 "Cowboys Night," presented by American Airlines, at The Star in Frisco on Aug. 27-28. For more details visit www.DallasCowboys.com/TrainingCamp.
