Trey Lance, the San Francisco 49ers' rookie quarterback, played his second preseason game in a similar fashion to his first. But it was reversed.
Lance started off quickly in last week’s game against Kansas City Chiefs. He completed his first seven passes and hit an 80-yard touchdown pass for Trent Sherfield. Lance struggled to find his rhythm on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, at SoFi Stadium.
Lance's passer rating dropped to 0.0 after his three first series. He went 1-of-5 for nine yards and had an interception that was too hard and too high for wideout Mohamed Sanu. These drives concluded with a punt and interception, along with another punt.
Lance was blamed for throwing too hard for Sanu, Deebo Samuel and other receivers on the drive prior to the interception. But he claimed that those mistakes helped him settle down.
Lance stated that he was frustrated, but that he also learned so much from each drive that it was easy just to turn the page. "I believe I was as confident as I was throughout the game from that point."
Lance was able to get it moving from there thanks to a deep connection with Sherfield for 41 yards. Lance made seven more attempts, completing eight of his next eight for 93 yards. He also scored two touchdowns on his last three series before calling it quits.
The 49ers won 15-10.
Kyle Shanahan, 49ers coach, stated that he understood what Trey did and that all eyes will be on him. "I don’t want him to feel that pressure, but it’s the reality of this business. ... He seemed more secure and settled than I expected. We thought we could start very quickly, but we didn't. It started to stack up and it looked like it was heading in the wrong direction. That's why I was so excited about the two-minute drill at end. He finished the drill in a great way that made me very happy."
Lance, whose first drive was behind the starting offensive line without left tackle Trent Williams or center Alex Mack, settled into his fourth series and took over at San Francisco's 25, with 57 seconds remaining. Lance hit Sanu with a 5-yard touchdown in the first half. He then fired a strike at Travis Benjamin, wideout, for a 16 yard score on his sixth and last drive.
Lance was 8 of 14 for 102 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. His passer rating was 89.9. After being sacked twice in his 30 snaps, he was replaced by Nate Sudfeld, third-string quarterback.
Lance stated, "I believe, for me especially in my situation, learning as much I can and being in a position to go back tonight and tomorrow and be able to watch the tape with the coaching staff, I think that's what I grow and where we win the most."
Initial quarterback plans for the Niners were to have Jimmy Garoppolo play one series, Lance play two series and then reinsert Garoppolo in the game.
Garoppolo was on a long drive, so Shanahan decided to end Garoppolo’s night. Garoppolo's third down pass in Chargers territory went a bit too high. Brandon Aiyuk caught it and returned it for Asante Samuel Jr.'s interception.
Garoppolo was 3-of-6 in 15 yards, with an interception for a passer rating 16.7
The 49ers' quarterback situation remained pretty much unchanged through two preseason games as well as most of training camp. Lance was able to work in the starting offense for an eight-play series in practice on Friday with the Chargers, and then he got a series with his first-team unit on Sunday.
Shanahan declined to answer a question after the game about whether he had seen any changes in his initial view of Garoppolo being the starter and Lance being the backup.
Shanahan stated, "No, that's not what I saw." "I would love it to be more each week, however I believe the current situation is pretty similar."
Shanahan declined to name Garoppolo his Week One starter moments later. He indicated that he would wait to make the decision against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 12.
Shanahan stated, "No, I'm no making that announcement." "Not tonight."
