LAS VEGAS (AP) — Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy wants quarterback Trey Lance to find a comfort zone and play within his capabilities. Forget living up to being the No. 3 overall pick by San Francisco out of North Dakota State in 2021, the key is assuring McCarthy the Cowboys didn’t make a mistake in trading for him nearly one year ago.
The 24-year-old acquitted himself quite well Saturday in Dallas’ 27-12 exhibition victory over the Raiders . After starting quarterback Dak Prescott’s backup, Cooper Rush, played the entire first quarter, Lance threw for 151 yards and completed 15 of 23 pass attempts, including his first touchdown as a Cowboy over the final three quarters. “Definitely, felt more comfortable coming out,” said Lance, who finished with a 98.
3 quarterback rating. “Would have liked to start a little bit faster in the third quarter, for sure. The whole entire third quarter, left some plays out there, for sure.
But excited to watch the tape. Learned a lot again from it, and it was fun to compete with these guys.” Last week in a 13-12 loss at the Los Angeles Rams, Lance completed 25 of 41 passes for 188 yards, no interceptions and led the Cowboys with 44 rushing yards.
But he also finished with a 72.0 quarterback rating. This week, he looked much more poised than he did at SoFi Stadium, where he led a handful of sustained drives that stalled in the red zone and ended with kicker Brandon Aubrey putting nine points on the board.
Saturday, with the glo.