ARLINGTON, Texas – Trey Lance played a lot for the Dallas Cowboys in the preseason – and finished with a multitude of interceptions.
The third quarterback threw five interceptions – the last on the final play at the Los Angeles goal line – as the Chargers beat the Cowboys 26-19 in their final preseason game on Saturday.
Derius Davis ran 70 yards for a touchdown on LA’s first play and Simi Fehoko caught a 78-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter.
Lance ran for a touchdown and threw for a score, but another of the five interceptions was a 25-yard pick-6 by undrafted rookie Tre’mon Morris-Brash when Dallas was down by a score in the fourth quarter.
It could be Lance’s last major appearance for the Cowboys.
Selected by San Francisco with the No. 3 overall pick in 2021, Lance played most of the preseason before the game against the Chargers – without allowing a single turnover – as Dallas tries to decide if Lance will be part of the club in the future.
Lance will spend the final year of his rookie contract as the third quarterback behind Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush. The Cowboys traded Lance last year after he lost the battle to replace Brock Purdy with the 49ers.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones was more concerned about the number of snaps a quarterback played than the frequency of errors, and the sample spanned four years, including his college years.
Lance was on the field for all 93 plays after receiving a total of 116 snaps in the first two preseason games.
“I hate that those five interceptions become a statistic in a game where I couldn’t have asked for more reps and a better situation to watch him play,” Jones said. “He needed that because the thing he lacks more than anything is the lack of reps, let alone NFL reps.”
Easton Stick was the one who threw Fehoko’s long touchdown, but otherwise completed just 11 of 28 passes for 109 yards and one interception as the Chargers try to figure out the backup plan behind Justin Herbert.
This game featured all of the regulars from both teams on the bench and was a reunion in the Dallas area for the players who scored both offensive touchdowns for LA.
Davis played on the TCU team that finished nationally runner-up to Georgia in the 2022 season. Fehoko, a fifth-round pick of the Cowboys in 2021, was released by the Cowboys after last year’s preseason.
Davis, a receiver/kick returner, received an end-around handoff from Stick and outpaced everyone reaching the LA sideline, pulling inside without being touched.
“The way he worked the sideline was unbelievable,” coach Jim Harbaugh said. “A weaker man wouldn’t have scored on that play. I was right there. I didn’t think he was going to get his turn.”
Stick, who started four games last season after Herbert broke a finger on his throwing hand, found Fehoko on the sideline as he ran in the second quarter. Fehoko slipped through Andrew Booth’s attempted tackle, tiptoed to stay in the field and ran free the final 30 yards.
Lance showed further signs of inaccuracy by throwing behind a receiver on Tony Jefferson’s interception in the second quarter and missing the completely free running back Deuce Vaughn in the flat.
Lance recovered with a nice touch on a throw to freshman Ryan Flournoy as they scored on a fade route for the second week in a row and tied the score.
His second interception came in the end zone, ending an 11-play drive to the Chargers’ 6-yard line in the third quarter. Lance ran 46 yards for a touchdown on the next possession.
Dallas’ final three possessions ended with interceptions by Lance, capped by Robert Kennedy kneeling just inside the goal line on a play from LA’s 20-yard line with 7 seconds left.
“I feel like I know who I am,” said Lance, who completed 33 of 49 passes for 323 yards and rushed for 90 yards. “My confidence is not going to wane. I’m just going to roll with the punches and keep playing.”
Vaughn, a second-year running back whose roster status is questionable, ran nine times for 53 yards.
The Cowboys announced before the game that cornerback DaRon Bland, who set an NFL record with five interceptions for touchdowns last season, will miss six to eight weeks with a stress fracture in his foot. Bland will undergo surgery. Last season, his second, he led the NFL with nine interceptions.
Three rookie offensive linemen did not play, meaning they should be in the opening day lineup. Chargers right tackle Joe Alt, the fifth pick in the draft, had played the first two preseason games. The same was true for Dallas’ first-round pick Tyler Guyton and third-round pick Cooper Beebe. Guyton is expected to start at left tackle, Beebe at center.
The season begins for both teams on September 8th. The Chargers play at home against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Cowboys are guests in Cleveland.
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