Cowboys QB Trey Lance has his moments — but you can’t ignore those 5 interceptions

ARLINGTON, Texas — There were times Saturday when Trey Lance looked like a first-round pick. There were times when he looked like a player in danger of being cut.

The 24-year-old quarterback isn’t going anywhere. He will be on the Dallas Cowboys’ 2024 roster. But he didn’t show enough during the preseason to make a case for the backup job. That will continue to belong to Cooper Rush.

While Lance threw for 323 yards and accounted for two touchdowns, he also threw five interceptions in Dallas’ 26-19 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in both teams’ preseason finale.

“Ups and downs for sure,” Lance said from the Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium locker room. “I turned the ball over too many times. … My confidence isn’t going anywhere. This sucks. This is one I’m not going to forget about any time soon, but it’s part of it. You just got to flush it and turn the page.”

The turnovers were surprising because Lance, who only threw two interceptions during his entire college career, had been outstanding at taking care of the ball throughout training camp and Dallas’ previous two preseason games.

“It’s a shame about our interceptions because I thought Lance was really, in many ways, had some good things happen out there,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “I saw some good things, and I saw some things you’d like to have back. Overall, I’m glad to have that outing with us.”

Jones said last week that Lance was going to be on Dallas’ 53-man roster. He didn’t see anything Saturday to change his mind. Jones likes Lance’s athleticism and the “very impressive” improvement he has seen over the last six weeks.

“What you’re looking for is the arrow going up, and it’s going up dramatically every practice and every game,” Jones said. “He’s doing a lot of things that he wasn’t doing as well early that he’s doing well now. … I saw some things out there that you can win with. I really did.”

Jones was asked after Saturday’s game if he has any regrets about trading for Lance a year ago.

“For a fourth-round pick,” Jones responded in question. “Are you kidding me? Although we did get Dak (Prescott) with our second fourth-round pick (in 2016). But we’ve had some that didn’t play in the fourth round, too.”

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy has said throughout training camp that Lance just needed reps. He certainly got them in Dallas’ three preseason games. Prescott didn’t play in any of the three. Rush played one series in the first game and two in the second. He did not play at all Saturday.

Lance attempted 113 passes in the three games, with 49 coming on Saturday. In the three games, he totaled 73 completions for 662 yards, two touchdowns, five interceptions and a 67.8 passer rating. He rushed 11 times for 90 yards and a touchdown on Saturday. He finished with 24 rushing attempts for 168 yards and two touchdowns.

“I expect his best game,” Prescott said of Lance before Saturday’s game on the CBS 11 local TV broadcast. “Just a guy that is getting more and more comfortable every day he’s been here. From the time that he’s shown up, he’s improved so much. His confidence is up. He’s going to have a great game.”

The running ability has always been obvious. He quickly turned a designed run into a 46-yard touchdown up the left sideline late in the third quarter. The passing game got off to a strong start as Lance opened the game 7 of 8 for 62 yards, including an impressive 25-yard throw to wide receiver Tyron Billy-Johnson near the left sideline.

TREY LANCE. 46-YARD TD RUN.

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Lance was also impressive through the air late in the second quarter, finding rookie wide receiver Ryan Flournoy for an 11-yard touchdown into the left corner of the end zone. It was a pretty throw looped over the top of the defender and into a spot where only Flournoy could make a play. He also made a high-level toss to tight end John Stephens across the middle that Stephens ended up fumbling away. And then there was a perfect throw down the right sideline to wide receiver Deontay Burnett that was dropped in the end zone early in the fourth quarter.

But it’s difficult to look past five turnovers.

“He’s just an ascending young talented quarterback that just loves to be coached,” McCarthy said. “I wish we had three more preseason games just to get him out there, just to keep playing, because he had tremendous production. Yes, the turnovers are always the first thing we talk about. … There have always been four or five plays each game that he’ll learn from. But he continually gets better every time you give him a chance. I think that says a lot about him. He’s just a young guy that needs to play. I think he’ll play in this league for a long time.”

Moving forward, there won’t be many meaningful reps if Prescott and Rush stay healthy. Frankly, there isn’t enough work for an NFL backup during the week let alone a No. 3 QB. Lance will have to make the most of the limited work that’s left over.

“Practice reps,” Lance said. “It’s kind of the life of a backup quarterback in the NFL. That’s just the life that I’ve lived. Being able to talk to (Rush) about it and learned a ton from him last year, and guys I’ve played with in the past as well. Just try to soak up as much as I possibly can and do whatever I can to help the team.”

(Photo of Trey Lance and Dak Prescott: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)