Dallas City News

Wins and losses don’t matter in the preseason, but we certainly enjoy the wins more. Unlike last week, the Cowboys were able to find the endzone and a victory in their second preseason outing against the Las Vegas Raiders. Who particularly stood out for Dallas on the offensive side?

Lance Looking Up

After a week of criticism for his performance against the Rams, Trey Lance showed improvement in this one. While he still doesn’t throw the cleanest ball at times and asks too much of his receivers, it was more balanced in Vegas with positive plays.

Brandon Aubrey’s 66-yard field goal stole the show on the last drive of the first half but Lance did a great job getting the team into range. With two passes and two runs, he helped Dallas move 34 yards in just 24 seconds. On the previous drive, Lance connected with Ryan Flournoy with a pretty touchdown pass that showed a lot of touch for a guy who’s struggled with accuracy.

Just like last week, this is also only one game. But it was movement in the right direction for Lance and hopefully a sign of more to come. He probably doesn’t have time to supplant Cooper Rush for QB2 at this point, but who’s to say a change couldn’t come during the regular season?

Tough Decisions at WR

That last spot or two at wide receiver is going to be tough on the decision-makers. With guaranteed members in CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks, Jalent Tolbert, and KaVontae Turpin, the Cowboys have several interesting candidates now for only one or two remaining jobs. Jalen Brooks is still the frontrunner and a lock if they keep six, but what if they only go five deep?

Ryan Flournoy had a big night against the Raiders and rekindled lost momentum from missing practices early in camp due to injury. Kelvin Harmon had another week with strong contested catches and Racey McMath also showed well. With a rookie contract to preserve, Flournoy is the current favorite to make the roster if any of these guys do.

One guy making decisions easier is Jalen Cropper, who had a second fumble in as many weeks. He has great athleticism and can be dangerous with the ball, but you can’t be just a danger to your own team with security issues.

The Real RBs Return

Last week we saw mostly camp bodies at running back but Royce Freeman and Deuce Vaughn made their preseason debuts on Saturday. The difference was clear as Vaughn averaged 6.8 yards on five carries and Freeman had 4.6 on his seven. Even without several starting offensive linemen, and going against mostly first-team defenders for Vegas, Freeman and Vaughn were productive and brought new hope to the Cowboys’ run game.

With Rico Dowdle and Ezekiel Elliott expected to make the 53, there’s probably only one spot left for either Freeman or Vaughn. Given the similarities in Freeman and Zeke’s games, plus Dowdle and FB Hunter Luepke having their own size and power, Vaughn makes more sense for change-of-pace and variety. Thankfully, his performance against the Raiders gave positive signs of what he could offer.