Dallas City News

The Cowboys’ first preseason game is in the books and was a 13-12 loss to the Rams. In a contest that was much more about the journey than the outcome, what did Dallas’ offense show in Los Angeles that could impact upcoming roster decisions and the season to come?

Lance’s Letdown

Given that the other team’s quarterback threw four interceptions, it’s hard to be too critical of Trey Lance’s performance. He didn’t turn the ball over but failed to do much with numerous opportunities, particularly given all of the Rams’ turnovers. For a fourth-year veteran, Lance still looked awfully raw.

You can see why Lance was once a third-overall pick. The athletic ability is clear, evidenced by several pocket escapes and 44 rushing yards. But when it came time to throw the ball, he often forced receivers to make adjustments and make heroic catches. Passes were rarely placed in a way to give his man an easy catch or the chance to do anything with it after.

Hopefully, some of this was rust after spending a year as an emergency QB and his general lack of playing time since entering the league. But if it doesn’t look different over the next two games, Lance is unlikely to have any significant part in the Cowboys’ future.

Guyton Looks Good

Dallas’ first-round pick had a nice appearance, stonewalling pass rushers and shoving guys around as a run blocker. Tyler Guyton didn’t get the start at left tackle over veteran Chuma Edoga, but this appears to be typical rite-of-passage stuff. The rookie looks like the real deal and, especially now that Edoga appears to have suffered a foot injury, is a seeming lock to be the starter come Week 1.

We have to be clear that the Rams sat their starting defenders, so Guyton’s competition isn’t what he’ll see in the regular season. But what we saw on Sunday backs up the camp reports that the rookie is holding his own against all comers, even Micah Parsons. While the first real game offers an elite test in Cleveland’s Myles Garrett, Guyton appears more ready for the challenge than we could’ve projected this early.

Nobody’s Winning the RB Battle

With Ezekiel Elliott, Royce Freeman, or Deuce Vaughn not playing, it was a great chance to see what Dallas’ other RB prospects could do. Rico Dowdle got a few carries early and looked solid, but otherwise the rest of the pack failed to impress. Even Malik Davis, who has his fans from the last few years with Dallas, couldn’t get anything going.

The one guy who might have caught your eye was Snoop Conner, a 2022 fifth-round pick of the Jaguars who Dallas picked up this offseason. While it was limited by playing behind the late-game offensive linemen, Conner showed more burst and vision on his few carries than Davis or Nathaniel Peat. With a practice squad job probably going to one of the backs, Conner had the best showing on an admittedly small sample size.