Well, that was ugly.
If Trey Lance was hoping to use Saturday’s preseason finale as his closing argument to be the Cowboys’ QB2 – and potential replacement for Dak Prescott – he failed.
Miserably at that. So much so that not only is his best hope likely QB3 in Dallas, he also might have tanked any trade value he had prior to kickoff.
A five-interception day in a 26-19 loss will do that to anyone’s career.
The only defense Lance might have is that he wasn’t playing with the starters. But even with that caveat, it’s hard to see anyone making the case to make him a starter in the NFL.
Lance’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day didn’t help out the Cowboys’ current quarterback situation at all.
If the hope was for Lance to replace Prescott – assuming a contract extension is out of the question – that clearly isn’t happening now.
Overpaying Prescott – who disappears in divisional round playoff games – is also out of the question. If Prescott isn’t going to give Dallas a hometown discount he won’t be in Dallas in 2025.
Which leaves Cooper Rush – who all but sealed the backup quarterback slot without throwing a single pass on Saturday.
Rush – with his 5-1 record as a starter – is a bridge at best between Prescott and the Cowboys’ next starting quarterback.
Barring an appearance in this year’s Super Bowl, the Cowboys are likely looking at drafting a quarterback in the first round next April.
Depending on how the regular season plays out, they might have to trade up to get their man. The Cowboys gambled a fourth-round pick hoping to avoid this scenario.
Like Lance, they rolled snake eyes on Saturday afternoon.
Catching The Wrong Breaks
The Cowboys were looking forward to seeing Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland terrorizing NFL receivers this year.
That is on hold, at least until October at the earliest.
Diggs seems to be on track to return from his ACL injury last year. Just in time for Bland to go down for six-to eight weeks thanks to a stress fracture in his foot.
Rookie Caelen Carson looks to be the starter against Browns on Sept. 8th – unless the Cowboys sign a free agent veteran.
Elevator To Nowhere
If you can’t beat them… trap them in an elevator?
On Friday evening at the Westin Hotel in downtown Dallas, roughly 15 people were trapped in an elevator between floors. The Westin is where the Los Angeles Chargers were staying.
Many of those trapped were connected to the Chargers – including Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts, who does the color commentary for the Chargers’ preseason games.
The Chargers starting quarterback, Justin Herbert, was also reportedly among those trapped. It sounds like it was a crowded elevator.
The elevator broke down in what is called a “blind shaft” – a section that travels through several floors but has no access to those floors.
When maintenance couldn’t get the car moving, Dallas Fire-Rescue dispatched its Urban Search and Rescue team. They eventually transferred all 15 people through the ceiling and into a car in an adjacent shaft.
The Chargers invited the rescue team to the team’s dinner, and all worked out well.
The incident didn’t help the Cowboys on Saturday apparently. Probably need to take that play out of the playbook.
Along with a few others that they tried on the field.
The Patriots’ Way Strikes Again
First it was “Spygate.” Then it was “DeflateGate.”
In both cases, the New England Patriots were caught red-handed, and the rules were casually swept under the rug.
Tapes were erased. Cell phones were wiped.
The Patriots Way.
Now the Hall of Fame is getting in on the act.
Normally, players and coaches have to wait five years after they retire before they can be eligible for the Hall.
Normally. But now the Hall has decided to reduce the waiting time for coaches to just one year.
The chief beneficiary of this change? Bill Belichick.
Former head coach of: The New England Patriots.
Pete Carroll also should get in next year under the same rule change. But would this even have happened if it were just Carroll alone?
What happens if both get in and then one or both get hired by another NFL team?
There’s a reason why the five-year rule was instituted in the first place. But that isn’t the Patriots Way I suppose.
