The Dallas Cowboys signed Trey Lance last season in hopes of capitalizing on the talent that made him the third pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. In this preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders, he finally showed glimpses of his potential.

Lance entered the game in the second quarter and led the Cowboys to a 27-12 victory over the Raiders with two touchdowns. He completed 15 of 23 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown on the night, posting a passer rating of 98.3. To top it all off, he also scored a rushing touchdown and tied for the team lead with 34 yards on the ground.

Overall, the Cowboys totaled 294 yards on offense, including 137 rushing yards as a group. Deuce Vaughn missed the Rams’ season opener due to injury, but made up for it with an impressive performance in Las Vegas. The second-year man managed 34 yards on five carries, an impressive average of 6.8 yards per carry.

Mike Zimmer’s defense was effective again. While the unit allowed the Raiders 315 total yards of offense, Dallas allowed just one touchdown for the second week in a row. Cornerback Andrew Booth led the Cowboys with eight tackles, while safety Juanyeh Thomas shone with two pass defenses in limited action.

First quarter
Although the Raiders started the game with their regulars while Dallas relied mostly on substitutes, the reserves held their own against the regulars. After stopping Vegas on a fourth-and-3 attempt at the Cowboys’ 47-yard line, starting quarterback Cooper Rush got his team close enough to allow Brandon Aubrey to kick a 54-yard field goal for an early 3-0 lead.

The game was soon tied, however. The Raiders began their possession at the 40-yard line after Aubrey’s kickoff went out of bounds. On their first snap, quarterback Gardner Minshew then connected with Tre Tucker in a deep post pattern for a 48-yard gain. The Cowboys’ defense held firm, however, and Vegas settled for a 29-yard field goal.

Second quarter
With the Raiders’ starters still in the game, the Dallas defense forced a three-and-out on Vegas’ first series of the second quarter. But on the ensuing punt, a massive 69-yard kick, returner Jalen Cropper fumbled the ball and the home team recovered it at the Cowboys’ 23-yard line.

However, the defense did its job again. The Raiders decided to go all out on fourth and fifth at the Dallas 18-yard line, but Minshew’s pass went too high and the Cowboys took the lead.

Lance came into the game early in the second quarter, but his first two series ended in three-and-outs. And the special teams again had their troubles. This time, the Raiders’ Tucker found a lane down the left sideline and was able to return the punt 43 yards. With a 5-yard penalty for Dallas, Vegas was back in business at the Cowboys’ 28-yard line.

Dallas’ defense did its job again, but this time the Raiders decided to score the easy points and kicked a 27-yard field goal for a 6-3 lead.

Lance, however, came back and showed some of the talent that made the Cowboys take a chance on him. He completed all five of his pass attempts for 34 yards and ran for a first down on third-and-1 at the Raiders’ 8-yard line. His final throw was a perfect 1-yard fade to Ryan Flournoy in the back right corner of the end zone, giving the Cowboys their first touchdown of the preseason.

But Lance and Co. weren’t done yet. With 28 seconds left, the young quarterback got the ball back at his own 14-yard line, threw two 8-yard passes to tight end John Stephens, fought his way to a 2-yard gain, then ran 20 yards before calling a timeout with 1 second left.

This gave Aubrey the chance to attempt a 55-yard field goal, and his kick went right down the middle, giving Dallas a 13-6 lead at halftime.

Third quarter
Unfortunately, the lead was soon cut to one point. After the Cowboys were forced to punt on their first possession of the third period, the Raiders marched 57 yards in 13 plays for a touchdown. The touchdown came on a 5-yard pass from Aidan O’Connell to tight end Harrison Bryant, but when the pair tried again on the two-point conversion, the throw was incomplete.

Fourth quarter
The Raiders were on the move as the clock ticked into the final quarter. The home team lined up at the Dallas 35-yard line for the first play of the fourth quarter. But Cowboys cornerback Kemon Hall stepped in front of another pass attempt from O’Connell to Bryant and carried the interception back 69 yards for a pick-6.

With the Dallas defense still in control, Lance’s night only got better. He later took over the offense on a 13-play, 88-yard run, completing passes of 17, 15, 12 and 30 yards, but he took the honor of scoring himself, sprinting up the middle on a quarterback draw from 2 yards out for the touchdown to make the score 27-12.