Trey Lance’s long wait to get into a game for the Cowboys came to an end on Sunday.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy sent Lance into the game for a couple of plays in the third quarter and then put Cooper Rush back into the game, but the team made a lasting change in the fourth quarter. Lance, who was acquired in a trade with the 49ers in the summer of 2023, went 4-of-6 for 21 yards and an interception to close out the 34-6 loss to the Eagles.

Rush was 13-of-23 for 45 yards before being pulled and his ineffectiveness made it inevitable that McCarthy would field questions about starting Lance in Week 11. McCarthy said he wasn’t ready to make any calls, but that would be a topic for discussion on Monday.

“We’re not there yet,” McCarthy said in his press conference. “I mean, we had a package for him. We wanted to get him into the flow of the game was the thought process coming in here. Then to get him in when we did, then I took him out on the third down. I just believe in reps. I mean that third down segment there, not that he couldn’t run the plays, I just didn’t want to put him in there [for] something that he hadn’t had a lot of reps in. I put Cooper back in for that play, for third down, we had the fumble, the turnover there. Something I’ll obviously discuss tomorrow.”

The Cowboys will play the Texans a week from Monday, which gives any quarterback a little extra time to prepare for what the Cowboys hope will be a more competent performance.