In the 49ers’ final tune-up before the 2022 NFL regular season, Kyle Shanahan was planning to play starting quarterback Trey Lance for a couple of series.
Instead, he was on the field for three drives against the Texans, and none of them went particularly well.
Lance went 7 of 11 passing against Houston for just 49 yards. He was unable to lead the 49ers to points in San Francisco’s 17-0 loss and struggled to throw the ball accurately with a tight spiral.
Shanahan was quick to point out that Lance’s supporting cast didn’t do a lot to assist him on Thursday, but he did concede that the outing wasn’t the young quarterback’s best.
“I wish it was cleaner, just from a whole, but I’m not going to make too much of it,” Shanahan said when asked about Lance’s outing, per 49ers Web Zone. “We wanted him to get just two drives. I ended up giving him three because I wanted to give him a little bit more there. But there weren’t too many opportunities, and we got him some long down and distances, which made it tough.”
MORE: Why the NFL preseason could lead to a Jimmy Garoppolo trade
Indeed, the 49ers were plagued by penalties (11 for 104 yards) during the contest. Lance was also under frequent pressure that forced him to roll out often.
That said, he isn’t looking for excuses after the performance; he’s just looking to learn from his issues.
“It never feels good to lose,” Lance told reporters after the game. “But we’ll learn from it, turn the page. Not going to make a bigger deal out of it than we need to, for sure. … Some ugly stuff out there, for sure. It definitely wasn’t our best night, but, like I said, we’re not going to make too big of a deal out of it. Watch the tape tomorrow, learn from it, get better.”
Lance’s outing on Thursday was his last of the 2022 NFL preseason. It also represented his final chance to instill confidence in his ability to replace Jimmy Garoppolo and further elevate a talented 49ers team.
Lance wasn’t quite able to do that, but the San Francisco faithful shouldn’t be too worried about the second-year quarterback’s inconsistent preseason. Here’s why.
MORE: Best & worst cases for each NFL team ahead of the 2022 NFL regular season
Why the 49ers shouldn’t be too worried about Trey Lance
Lance certainly didn’t have the best preseason for the 49ers, but he did show off the skills that could make him a difference-maker at the NFL level.
One was his mobility. Lance was frequently asked to scramble around to find space against the Texans on Thursday as the blocking in front of him deteriorated.
Lance wasn’t necessarily able to turn those scrambles into big-time plays, but he was sacked just once and showed an ability to get the ball out of his hands. That skill should transfer over to the regular season and allow him to avoid big, negative plays.
It’s also worth noting that Lance wasn’t playing with San Francisco’s entire starting offensive line. Left tackle Trent Williams, who is arguably the best offensive lineman in football, and Mike McGlinchey, a 6-8 behemoth right tackle, both sat out of Thursday’s game. As such, the Texans’ starting defense was better able to take advantage of the 49ers’ backup tackles and their reshuffled interior offensive line.
The other skill that Lance showed off during the preseason was his arm strength and talent. In his first preseason outing, he completed a long, deep pass to rookie Danny Gray down the left sideline for a 76-yard touchdown. It was a pretty pass and showcased just how electric the second-year quarterback can be with his arm.
TREY AREAAAAAAAAAAA.@treylance09 goes UP TOP to the rookie burner, @DGray_5! SIX!
📺: #GBvsSF on @NFLNetwork (check local listings)
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/IPaxU4rWJN pic.twitter.com/dKC8ov5eS0— NFL (@NFL) August 13, 2022
Lance has certainly flashed, but that’s not to say that the team shouldn’t have any concerns about him taking over for Garoppolo. Lance’s accuracy and ball placement haven’t been perfect and he threw a few passes against the Texans that wobbled on their way to his receiver. He also led just one touchdown drive in five attempts during the preseason.
That said, Lance’s inconsistencies shouldn’t surprise the 49ers either. He came into the league as a raw, unproven talent out of North Dakota State, an FCS school. He started just one full season in 2019, played just a game in 2020 because of the postponement of the FCS season due to COVID-19 and started just two games for the 49ers last season.
In short, Lance is inexperienced. As such, there will be growing pains for him and he won’t always make the exact right play, especially in his early days as an NFL starter.
So, while that may, at times, make him a bit less reliable than Garoppolo, Lance’s ceiling is still higher than that of Jimmy G. That makes it important not to overreact to what the rookie is doing in the early stages of his first year as an NFL starter.
MORE: Will the 49ers cut Jimmy G if they can’t trade him?
Trey Lance preseason stats
Lance finished the preseason going 11 for 16 passing for 141 yards, a touchdown and a passer rating of 116.9. He didn’t turn the ball over but was sacked once in each of his two outings.
Of course, it must be restated that 76 of Lance’s yards came on his one touchdown throw. If you remove that from the equation, Lance’s display was middling; he went 10 of 15 passing for 65 yards over two appearances.
The 49ers also scored just 10 points on Lance’s five preseason drives, good for an average of 2 points per drive. That’s not terrible, but the 49ers will need more from Lance and Co. to emerge from the NFC West as a playoff team.
Hits: 0
