Trey Lance Underwhelming, Cowboys Lose Late to Rams: Top 10 Whitty Observations

A year ago at this time we had no idea if the Dallas Cowboys had a kicker (they did) and we were convinced Deuce Vaughn was about to be a star (he wasn't). Moral to the story: Tread lightly on forming concrete opinions from NFL preseason openers.

Just because the Cowboys committed two costly defensive penalties that led to a game-losing drive and a last-second touchdown in a 13-12 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, no, they will no go 0-17.

Accompanied by some deep breaths, the 10 highs and lows from the dramatic, ultimately meaningless loss Sunday afternoon at SoFi Stadium:

10. FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS - Back at his natural safety position after a 100-tackle season playing as a woefully undersized linebacker, Markquese Bell was all over the field. He made tackles on screen passes, he broke up a pass (well, actually he dropped an interception) in the end zone and he intercepted a ball thrown by Rams' quarterback Stetson Bennett in the second quarter. If the Cowboys had a defensive star, Bell gets the ribbon. Offensive highlight? Jalen Brooks made a nice adjustment and leaping catch of a Cooper Rush pass for a 43-yard gain to set up Dallas' first field goal.

9. OH-VERSHOWN - With most of the team leaders not suiting up, it was second-year linebacker DeMarvion Overshown who gave the seemingly mandatory, over-animated motivational speech in Dallas' last pre-kickoff huddle.

8. LOSE SOME, WIN SOME - Second-year cornerback Eric Scott Jr. had himself quite an eventful first half. The 2023 sixth-round draft pick was ugly early, blatantly missing a tackle that led to the Rams' first field goal, getting called for a 15-yard late hit after surrendering another completion along the sidelines and also giving up a fourth-down conversion catch. But he redeemed himself (mostly?) with an interception in the Red Zone in the final minute of the second quarter.

7. A STAR WAS BORN - Two years ago in this same stadium against the Los Angeles Chargers, a rookie free agent named KaVontae Turpin ran two kicks back for touchdowns to announce himself on the NFL scene. Nothing remotely close to that on Sunday, unless you were on the edge of your seat watching Bennett and Trey Lance match futility.

6. TC-WHO? - There's a chasm of difference in talent between college and the NFL, even if it's the National Championship Game vs. Week 1 of the preseason. Bennett was given that harsh reminder. At Georgia, he led the Bulldogs to back-to-back titles and in the 2022 championship game played at SoFi Stadium he threw four touchdowns in a 65-7 romp over TCU. In the same stadium against the Cowboys' backups? How about four interceptions? With another dropped in the end zone and yet another nullified by a defensive penalty. Drafted in the fourth round last season, Bennett did nothing to vault past Jimmy Garoppolo as the Rams' backup behind Matthew Stafford.

With a lot of help from Dallas' defense, Stetson wound up getting the last laugh. His fifth interception of the game that would've sealed the outcome was negated by a defensive holding penalty on fourth down, and later the Cowboys were flagged 15 yards for a late hit. On his 38th pass of the game, Bennett threw a touchdown pass with four seconds remaining for the win.

5. CEEDEE TO K.C.? - If the Cowboys don't want to sign CeeDee Lamb, one analyst suggests they trade him to the Kansas City Chiefs for two first-round picks and rising receiver Rashee Rice.

4. PEER PRESSURE - Worn by Hall of Famers Bob Hayes and Emmitt Smith, wearing No. 22 for the Cowboys comes with a bit of responsibility. Same for No. 88 ... right Drew Pearson, Michael Irvin, Dez Bryant and Lamb? But now comes second-round draft pick Marshawn Kneeland, an edge rusher with the burden of living up to No. 94. Charles Haley and DeMarcus Ware before him both wound up in Canton.

3. 4 x 4  - Much has been written ( guilty ) about whether new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer's discipline-and-fundamentals system could create as many takeaways as old coordinator Dan Quinn's talent-and-risk system. If Sunday was indication, indeed. Bell, Scott, undrafted rookie safety and rookie linebacker Brock Mogensen all had interceptions. Of course, once the regular season starts the Cowboys won't see the likes of a Rams' third-stringer like Bennett.

2. URGENCY, PART 2? - After causing a media firestorm this week by saying he didn't "have a sense or urgency" about signing Lamb to a contract extension and ending the receiver's training camp holdout, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones attempted to clarify his statement before the game. But, um, he kind of wound up repeating the same sentiment.

“I think I got in trouble about it the other day when I said, ‘Look, we’re not urgent about CeeDee’,” Jones said on the CBS 11 pregame show . "Well, no one appreciates CeeDee being on the field any more than I do. But let me say this, he wouldn’t be taking a snap out here today if he’d been here."

Jones is correct, of course, in that Lamb - like Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons, etc. - would not have even suited up against the Rams. But ... here we go again.

“The bottom line is, there’s not that urgency," Jones said. "Now, I understand completely the angst that’s happening when you’re anxious about it and someone says anything about whether you’re missed or not. Well, CeeDee, you’re missed, OK? But you’re not missed out here competing, and it doesn’t put any pressure, anyplace on us. It’s not pressure out here today and in practice.”

So Jerry misses Lamb, but not ... urgently?

1. TREY TALK - Since he merely sat all of last season after the August trade from the 49ers, Lance appeared in a Cowboys game for the first time. Womp wommmmp.

Clearly still third on the depth chart behind Prescott and Rush, Lance was underwhelming at best. Bottom line: The quarterback drafted No. 3 overall in 2021 played 3.5 quarters, led eight drives and threw 41 passes against the Rams' mostly second- and third-teamers and guys who will be free agents in two weeks without getting his team into the end zone.

His legs are a weapon; his arm a liability.

Lance made a nifty, 19-yard scramble and another 13-yard run on an option play. But several times he hesitated just a beat in delivering the ball, allowing open receivers to be covered, minimizing what should have been bigger gains and one time negating a touchdown. Other times, he simply wasn't accurate with his ball placement. And on a couple occasions, both.

On a 4th-and-1 at L.A.'s 3-yard line, Lance threw a pass toward a wide-open Jalen Moreno-Cropper. But the ball was late and long, landing well out of bounds and giving the receiver no chance to make a catch.

The knock on Lance has been his lack of timing and accuracy. His first game as a Cowboy did nothing to quite those critics.

He finished 25 of 41 for 188 yards. He was sacked twice, but also ran six times for 44 yards.

At one point Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy was so tired of seeing Lance fail on fourth down (he went 2 of 5) he trotted out kicker Brandon Aubrey ... for a 65-yard field goal attempt (wide right).