DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys got their first victory of 2024, and it came in Week 2 of the preseason with a 27-12 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. It was a game that might’ve reminded Cowboys fans of how the team has accomplished 36 wins over the last three seasons, getting contributions from each phase to win going away. Not many of Dallas’ best players suited up in the exhibition contest, but they still managed to handle a Raiders team that played many of their first stringers for a few series and tried to find their starting quarterback for the regular season.
It didn’t matter, the Cowboys got the win and learned some things along the way. Here are five observations on the Cowboys from their Week 2 preseason victory: Lance shows progress In the first preseason game, backup QB hopeful Trey Lance had an uneven performance that didn’t inspire much confidence, but things changed against the Raiders. In Week 2, Lance played a better game, showing that he can dust off the rust and learn from his mistakes.
Head coach Mike McCarthy once again gave Lance the lion’s share of the work and the young QB responded by throwing for 151 yards and a touchdown, while also running in a score. Lance’s best play came near the end of the first half when he scrambled to give kicker Brandon Aubrey a shot at a long field goal, which was converted. It wasn’t a perfect performance, as the signal caller still had some inaccurate throws and continued to lack touch in the intermediate pass.