The Dallas Cowboys have a single game left on their 2024 season and it will feature the third quarterback to play significant snaps for them this season. That is the verbiage being used as it relates to Trey Lance, according to Friday’s report from NFL media.

Sunday’s game will be the third that Dallas will play after being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Aside from the first where it was the case against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, we have seen the Cowboys dial back the intensity ever since they were formally eliminated from consideration for the playoffs. It is worth noting the elimination came just a few hours before that Tampa game which is why they (in all likelihood) went at that game the way they did.

With time for the situation to take though we saw the Cowboys shut CeeDee Lamb down for the season last week, the most glaring indication that they were waving the white flag on 2024. Ever since this season took a turn at the quarterback position specifically, we have seen the Cowboys insist on competing to win and to their credit they have managed to do that in impressive manner with Cooper Rush under center.

Obviously circumstances have changed though which is why the Cowboys feel comfortable going with Trey Lance at quarterback to whatever degree the word “significant” ultimately yields. While this will mark the third quarterback to play a large role for Dallas this season as noted, it marks the first of this variety for Lance in a Cowboys uniform. What’s more is it marks his first legitimate action period since his last start which he made for the San Francisco 49ers way back in Week 2 of the 2022 season. He went 2 for 3 for 30 yards (with 3 rushes for 13 yards) before being injured and lost for that year.

It was almost a full 365 days later when the Cowboys traded for Lance and it took until November 10th of the 2024 season for him to throw a pass in a regular season game for the team in some mop up duty against the Philadelphia Eagles. We have noted this several times over, it was a horrific trade for Dallas having sent a fourth-round pick for Lance’s services.

Importantly, Lance is a free agent after this season so the idea that the Cowboys could have been getting a look at him for the future wasn’t exactly a genuine one. Still though, it will be interesting to see how he looks in a game that isn’t in the preseason.

For what it’s worth, the Cowboys are hosting Washington in the season finale for the first time in nine years. During that 2015 season finale the Cowboys also started a quarterback down the roster in a meaningless game and he had quite the day. The quarterback in question was Kellen Moore who threw for 435 yards. At the time it was the sixth-most passing yards in a game for a Dallas Cowboys quarterback.

Additionally, consider that the Cowboys are making this decision despite a potential incentive that Cooper Rush could reach based on playing time.

The word “significant” is obviously vague as it relates to Lance, but Ian Rapoport noted that he could wind up throwing more than 20 passes. It stands to reason that this would inhibit Rush from reaching that incentive.

If Lance were under contract for the future then this move could be more justified from the Cowboys. While many have argued to see him, it isn’t talking out of both sides of the proverbial mouth to say that this isn’t necessarily the best way to go about it. Rush has been an incredible soldier for several years now and the Cowboys may be purposefully making a decision that is going to cost him money all in a meaningless game, and all in a likely vain effort.

Disney has struggled mightily to get any new Star Wars movie projects off the ground with loads cancelled and others in unclear stages of development. The only “definitely happening” one is The Mandalorian and Grogu, which of course came from the Disney Plus TV series.

But if there is one fixture in the Star Wars universe behind the scenes that should be given their own movie, it’s none other than Bryce Dallas Howard, the actress-director daughter of actor-director Ron Howard who has consistently put out amazing episodes of Star Wars series that she’s been given to direct.

That was on full display this week with Skeleton Crew’s Zero Friends Again, where the plot did not move forward much but Howard did brilliant work with the story available and it’s easily one of the best episodes of the already-good series.

• She did the fourth episode of The Mandalorian, Sanctuary, where Mando has to defend a village from raiders in an AT-ST, a thrilling entry.
• In season 3 of The Mandalorian, she directed Guns for Hire, which focused on Bo-Katan challenging Mandalorian privateers for leadership over the group, uniting the groups to try to go and retake Mandalore.
• She did episode five of The Book of Boba Fett, one of the only good episodes because it moved away from Boba Fett entirely and brought Mando back for a full episode in between his seasons. It’s the episode where he gets beskar armor for Grogu and makes a new ship out of an N-1 Starfighter.

She didn’t do any episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka, Andor or The Acolyte, but the general consensus among fans is that when Bryce Dallas Howard shows up, it’s going to be a banger.

It seems like a far better idea to give Howard her own Star Wars movie, whatever it might be, rather than bringing in more outside directors like James Mangold or Simon Kinberg, both being ported over from X-Men, of all places. Howard knows Star Wars, and deserves a shot at the big time. If not a movie, give her a series all to herself. Maybe she could make something set in the Old or High Republic work for once.

Will this happen? Who knows. She may just keep directing periodic TV episodes, but the only Star Wars show that is even returning is Ahsoka, plus Andor wrapping with season 2, which is already done filming. Skeleton Crew seemed like it may have been on deck to become an ongoing series, but budget versus viewership is a real concern.

Disney may be risk-averse when it comes to Star Wars these days, hence why the only thing it’s making is a Mandalorian movie, but Howard does not seem like a risk, and she’s earned a bigger project.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.