Cowboys' Trey Lance throws 5 picks, Chargers' long TDs pace victory over Dallas

Trey Lance played a bunch in the preseason for the Dallas Cowboys — and finished with a bevy of interceptions.

The third-string 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 a preseason finale Saturday.

Derius Davis ran 70 yards for a touchdown on LA's first play and Simi Fehoko caught a 78-yard scoring pass to start the second quarter.

Lance ran for a touchdown and threw for a score but another of the five interceptions was undrafted rookie Tre’mon Morris-Brash’s 25-yard pick-6 with Dallas trailing by a point in the fourth quarter.

It could be Lance’s last extensive action for the Cowboys.

The 2021 No. 3 overall pick by San Francisco played most of the preseason — without any turnovers before facing the Chargers — as Dallas tries to decide if Lance will be part of the club’s future.

For now, the expiring year on Lance’s rookie contract will be spent as the third QB behind Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush. The Cowboys traded for Lance last year after he lost the battle to be Brock Purdy’s backup with the 49ers.

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones was more concerned with the volume of snaps than the frequency of mistakes for a quarterback with a small sample size going back four years, including his college days.

Lance was on the field for all 93 plays after getting 116 snaps total in the first two preseason games.

“I hate that those five interceptions are going to be a stat on a game that I couldn’t have asked for more reps and a better situation to watch him play,” Jones said. “He needed that, because the one thing he’s missing more than anything is the lack of reps, much less NFL reps.”

Easton Stick was on the throwing end of Fehoko’s long TD, but was just 11 of 28 for 109 yards with an interception otherwise as the Chargers try to sort out the backup plan behind Justin Herbert.

All the starters sat for both teams in a game that was a Dallas-area reunion for the players who scored both of LA's offensive touchdowns.

Davis played on the TCU team that finished as the national runner-up to Georgia during the 2022 season. Fehoko, a fifth-round pick by the Cowboys in 2021, was waived by them after the preseason last year.

Davis, a receiver/kick returner, took an end-around handoff from Stick and beat everybody to the LA sideline, cutting back inside without getting touched.

“The way he worked the sideline was incredible,” coach Jim Harbaugh said. “A lesser man would not have scored on that play. I was right there. I didn't think he was going to be able to get a turn.”

Stick, who started four games last season after Herbert broke a finger on his throwing hand, hit Fehoko in stride along the sideline in the second quarter. Fehoko slipped through Andrew Booth's attempted tackle, tip-toed to stay inbounds and ran free the final 30 yards.

Lance showed more signs of inaccuracy, throwing behind a receiver on Tony Jefferson's second-quarter interception and missing wide-open running back Deuce Vaughn in the flat.

Lance recovered with nice touch on a throw to rookie Ryan Flournoy as they connected for the second week in a row on a fade route for a score.

His second interception was 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 TD on the next possession.

The last three Dallas possessions ended on interceptions by Lance, capped by Robert Kennedy kneeling just inside the goal line on a play from the LA 20 with 7 seconds remaining.

“I feel like I know who I am,” said Lance, who was 33 for 49 for 323 yards and had 90 yards rushing. “My confidence isn't going anywhere. Just turn the page and play ball.”

Vaughn, a second-year running back whose roster status is in question, ran nine times for 53 yards.

Injury setback

The Cowboys announced before the game that cornerback DaRon Bland, who set an NFL record with five interception returns for touchdowns last season, will miss six to eight weeks because of a stress fracture in his foot. Bland will have surgery. He led the NFL with nine interceptions last season, his second.

Sitting rookies

Three rookie offensive linemen didn't play, which means they should be in the opening day lineup. Chargers right tackle Joe Alt, the fifth overall pick in the draft, had played the first two preseason games. So had Dallas' first-round pick, Tyler Guyton, and third-rounder Cooper Beebe. Guyton appears set to start at left tackle, Beebe at center.

Up next

Both teams open the season Sept. 8. The Chargers are home against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Cowboys visit Cleveland.