LAS VEGAS — Trey Lance’s journey to his first touchdown pass as a Dallas Cowboys quarterback was arduous. But the throw itself? That, he said, was easy.
Deep in Raiders territory during the second quarter of Saturday’s preseason game, Lance took a short drop into the pocket. He looked to his right. And there, he found a welcome view: Rookie wide receiver Ryan Flournoy ran wide open after shaking Raiders cornerback Jack Jones.
So Lance reared his arm back and lofted a soft pass that Flournoy pulled down in the corner of the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown.
The play was a highlight of an improved performance from Lance. After an uneven start to the preseason last weekend, the fourth-year quarterback finished Saturday’s 27-12 victory over the Raiders 15 of 23 passing for 153 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He also ran seven times for 34 yards and another score.
Lance showed strong command of the offense at times, and while his showing was imperfect, it included many more bright moments than his Cowboys debut six days earlier.
Lance entered Saturday facing pressure to perform. The Cowboys will cut their roster from 90 players to 53 in a week and a half, and Lance he hadn’t done much to cement his spot.
Saturday, he began building a stronger argument. But it wasn’t a clean performance from the jump.
After replacing quarterback Cooper Rush late in the first quarter, Lance’s first pass attempt was a deep ball down the left sideline. It soared about 50 yards through the air and out of reach of the intended target, wide receiver Tyron Billy-Johnson. His second throw was a shorter one on third down that sailed too high for Flournoy to pull down.
Eventually, Lance began to settle in. He completed his final seven passes of the first half and steered the team on an impressive 14-play, 76-yard drive that Flournoy capped with his touchdown catch.
Lance’s best moment on the series came when he rolled to his left and saw a Raiders defender barreling toward him. Instead of panicking, Lance absorbed a hit while flipping a pass out to tight end Luke Schoonmaker, who ran into the open field for an 11-yard gain.
In addition to throwing under duress, Lance also enjoyed success on the ground at times Saturday, including when he scrambled for 20 yards near the end of the first half to set up kicker Brandon Aubrey’s 66-yard field goal.
Lance and the Cowboys’ offense sputtered for two drives in the second half before putting together a 13-play, 88-yard drive that spanned 7:29 in the fourth quarter. On a first down during the possession, Lance whipped a bullet deep across the middle of the field for a 30-yard gain to Racey McMath, easily Dallas’ longest completion of the game.
To end the drive, Lance barreled his way through the teeth of the Raiders’ defense for a 2-yard touchdown run.
While Lance did miss a handful of throws Saturday and the offense at times lacked explosive plays under his direction, the 24-year-old quarterback began compiling bullet points in his case for a roster spot and earned rave reviews from Coach Mike McCarthy.
The outing was, at the least, a step forward.
