LAS VEGAS — Trey Lance raced into the end zone with about 2:06 left in the second quarter on Saturday night. The Cowboys quarterback had five receivers lined up on the outside and saw a lightning-fast safety, Jaydon Grant, coming from the side.
Lance’s touchdown up the middle on a second-and-goal play from the 2-yard line was the deciding goal in the Cowboys’ 27-12 victory over the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium and thus their first win of the season in this preparation.
It was also the Cowboys’ first game here.
With this touchdown, Lance sealed his best performance of the preseason, in which he also scored a 66-yard field goal thanks to a quick quarterback.
The Cowboys have one more week on the West Coast before they finally get home, but they learned a few things about their No. 3 quarterback and maybe a few other things.
Here are three takeaways from Cowboys-Raiders:
Trey Lance and the Offensive
The Cowboys scored their first touchdown of the preseason when Trey Lance threw a 1-yard pass to receiver Ryan Flournoy with 1:07 left in the first half. The touchdown had two good aspects. Lance was ready for the throw, something the coaches had worked with him on, and Flournoy made a nice jab step to shake off corner Jake Jones, allowing him to get free for the catch. Lance completed 15 of 23 passes with no interceptions.
“Ryan took him down,” Lance said. “It was like a long handoff. Great route by Ryan.”
Lance came into the game on the third series after Cooper Rush started.
The Cowboys are looking to improve their third quarterback. Before the game, Jerry Jones told KRLD-FM (105.3 The Fan) that coaches wanted Lance to work more out of the pocket. In the regular season, Jones said, game plans called for Lance to use his legs more. At the end of the first half, he ran long to set up a 66-yard field goal and gained 4 yards on a third-and-1 when he used the zone read method.
“I definitely felt more comfortable coming out,” Lance said. “I would definitely like to get a little faster start in the third quarter. There were some plays throughout the third quarter, but I was excited to watch the video and learn a lot from it again.”
While Lance made progress, the running attack did not become clearer. There were some positive performances in the game, including that of Deuce Vaughn, who rushed for 34 yards on five carries. All of the healthy running backs played except for Ezekiel Elliott, as the Cowboys look to fill three or maybe four spots at the position.
Rookies Tyler Guyton (left tackle) and Cooper Beebe (center) started their first NFL games on Saturday.
Follies of the special teams
The Cowboys special teams had a busy Saturday night.
The highlight was kicker Brandon Aubrey’s 66-yard field goal to end the first half. It was the longest kick of his career, both in the regular season and preseason. In a regular season game, Aubrey’s longest field goal is 60 yards against Philadelphia. Last season, Aubrey hit 10 of 10 kicks over 50 yards. Had this been a regular season game, Aubrey’s kick would have set an NFL record. The longest field goal in NFL history is 66 yards in 2021 by Baltimore’s Justin Tucker.
“It feels like nothing is there,” Aubrey said of the kick. “Your foot bounces a little bit, the ball sticks to your foot for a split second, and when it goes, it shoots off your foot and you know right away it was a good, clean hit.”
Aubrey said the longest kick converted in practice was 70 yards.
The Cowboys committed three penalties on special teams. Aubrey sent a kickoff out of bounds in the first quarter, allowing the Raiders to get the ball at their 40-yard line. The game ended with a Raiders field goal. Special teams ace CJ Goodwin was penalized for holding in the second quarter, nullifying a 19-yard return by Jalen Cropper. Cropper botched a punt in the second quarter that led to a Raiders field goal in the second quarter. He tripped over his own feet and lost the ball on the return. On the opening kickoff of the second half, Princeton Fant was penalized for holding.
The Cowboys also allowed a 43-yard punt return by Tre Tucker.
The Cowboys’ use of young players can lead to problems on the special teams.
And what about the defense?
The Cowboys got a surprise starter when Jordan Phillips arrived in time to play defensive tackle because Mazi Smith was ill.
Coach Mike McCarthy said Smith suffered an allergic reaction as the team boarded the bus to the airport.
The Cowboys signed Phillips with conditional late-round picks to add depth on the defensive line. Phillips started alongside rookie Justin Rogers on Saturday night. The Cowboys were shorthanded on the defensive line entering the game with Smith out and newly signed end Carl Lawson yet to play. After forcing four turnovers and allowing a last-second touchdown in the season opener against the Rams, they had one allowed touchdown and one forced turnover. Cornerback Kemon Hall (North Texas) intercepted quarterback Aidan O’Connell’s pass and returned it 69 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. The pick-six gave the Cowboys a 20-12 lead.
The Cowboys nearly had two interceptions early in the game. Linebacker Willie Harvey dropped an interception on the first series of the game and corner Josh DeBerry nearly intercepted a 2-point conversion attempt in the third quarter. The Raiders played with parts of their first-team defense for most of the first half, which the Cowboys failed to do. The Cowboys faced the Raiders’ first-team offense for almost as long. Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer blitzed a few times but stuck to a basic scheme.
“They definitely set the tone with their stops,” McCarthy said.
High fives for all: See photos from the Cowboys’ first preseason win in 2024
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