Trey Lance played a lot in the preseason for the Dallas Cowboys but ended up with many interceptions.
The third-string quarterback threw five interceptions — the last one on the final play at the Los Angeles goal line — as the Chargers defeated the Cowboys 26-19 in their preseason finale on Saturday.
Derius Davis ran 70 yards for a touchdown on LA’s first play, and Simi Fehoko caught a 78-yard touchdown pass to start the second quarter.
Lance managed to run for a touchdown and throw for a score, but one of his five interceptions was a 25-yard pick-6 by undrafted rookie Tre’mon Morris-Brash, with Dallas trailing by a point in the fourth quarter.
This might be Lance’s last extensive playtime for the Cowboys.
The 2021 No. 3 overall pick by San Francisco played most of the preseason — with no turnovers before facing the Chargers — as Dallas decides if Lance will be part of their future.
For now, Lance will spend the last year of his rookie contract as the third quarterback behind Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush. The Cowboys traded for Lance last year after he lost the backup role to Brock Purdy with the 49ers.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones was more focused on the number of snaps Lance took rather than the number of mistakes he made. Jones noted that Lance has had limited playing time over the past four years, including college.
Lance was on the field for all 93 plays after getting 116 snaps 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 threw the long touchdown pass to Fehoko but was otherwise 11 of 28 for 109 yards with an interception, as the Chargers work on finding a backup quarterback behind Justin Herbert.
Both teams rested their starters, and the game turned into a Dallas-area reunion for the players who scored both of LA’s offensive touchdowns.
Davis was on the TCU team that was the national runner-up to Georgia in 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 and kick returner, took an end-around handoff from Stick and raced to the LA sideline, cutting back inside without being 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, hit Fehoko in stride along the sideline in the second quarter. Fehoko avoided a tackle attempt by Andrew Booth, stayed inbounds by tip-toeing, and ran the final 30 yards freely.
Lance showed more signs of being inaccurate, throwing behind a receiver on Tony Jefferson’s second-quarter interception and missing a wide-open running back, Deuce Vaughn, in the flat.
Lance made a comeback with a well-placed throw to rookie Ryan Flournoy, connecting for a score on a fade route for the second week in a row.
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 touchdown on the next drive.
The last three possessions for Dallas ended with interceptions by Lance, ending with Robert Kennedy kneeling just inside the goal line on a play from the LA 20 with 7 seconds left.
