DALLAS – Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy wants quarterback Trey Lance to find a comfort zone and play within his capabilities.

Forget living up to being the No. 3 overall pick by San Francisco out of North Dakota State in 2021, the key is assuring McCarthy the Cowboys didn’t make a mistake in trading for him nearly one year ago.

The 24-year-old acquitted himself quite well Saturday in Dallas’ 27-12 exhibition victory over the Raiders.

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Lance Shines in Extended Playing Time

After starting quarterback Dak Prescott’s backup, Cooper Rush, played the entire first quarter, Lance threw for 151 yards and completed 15 of 23 pass attempts, including his first touchdown as a Cowboy over the final three quarters.

“Definitely, felt more comfortable coming out,” said Lance, who finished with a 98.3 quarterback rating. “Would have liked to start a little bit faster in the third quarter, for sure. The whole entire third quarter, left some plays out there, for sure. But excited to watch the tape. Learned a lot again from it, and it was fun to compete with these guys.”

Last week in a 13-12 loss at the Los Angeles Rams, Lance completed 25 of 41 passes for 188 yards, no interceptions and led the Cowboys with 44 rushing yards. But he also finished with a 72.0 quarterback rating.

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Improved Performance in Las Vegas

This week, he looked much more poised than he did at SoFi Stadium, where he led a handful of sustained drives that stalled in the red zone and ended with kicker Brandon Aubrey putting nine points on the board.

Saturday, with the glow of Las Vegas Boulevard peaking through Allegiant Stadium’s lanai doors, Lance found his groove right around the same time running backs Deuce Vaughn and Royce Freeman and got the running game churning.

By his third drive, and the Raiders leading 6-3, Lance looked like the guy McCarthy envisioned, as his poise under duress took over and seemingly allowed his instincts to take over as he led the Cowboys on a 14-play, 76-yard touchdown drive against six of Las Vegas’ defensive starters.

Out of a shotgun formation, Lance took two steps back and floated a pass with exceptional touch to rookie wide receiver Ryan Flournoy, who beat Raiders starting cornerback Jack Jones.

On their next drive, Lance showed off his dual-threat skills with a 20-yard scramble to set the Cowboys up for a 66-yard field goal by Aubrey as time expired in the second quarter.

Lance later turned in a 13-play, 98-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

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McCarthy Praises Lance’s Progress

Lance’s overall play displayed the type of game management he was scouted for after winning two FCS championships with North Dakota State. The former 49er has appeared in just eight games during his career, with only four starts to his credit.

McCarthy said Lance took the step he was hoping his third-string quarterback would in the team’s second straight road game.

“I felt that some of the things we were trying to do, (getting) certain individuals touches, (we) didn’t get him into a rhythm right away,” McCarthy said. “But you know, two 14-play drives, I mean, that’s incredible for preseason football. I think it just shows you his understanding and confidence.

“When you stand up here and you talk about your quarterback running the running the offense, the pace of operation, those are steps that every quarterback has to take. And I thought our tempo was really good tonight. We were getting into the huddle and he was commanding. He saw plenty of pressure. … I thought we saw a good amount of pressure … so really good experience for him tonight.”