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GLENDALE, Arizona – San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Trey Lance gave his first NFL start a surprisingly similar criticism to his performance in the second half of last week’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
“Some good, some bad again,” Lance said.
After spending a full week working with the starters in practice, Lance entered Sunday’s 17-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, excited to start.
This was all the more true as it may have been the only one he has hosted in quite some time, as coach Kyle Shanahan said on Friday that Lance was not named a starter and that Jimmy Garoppolo would reprise his role. starting when he returned from his right calf injury. .
Could Lance have done well enough to wrest the job from Garoppolo? Getting into the game was unlikely, but Shanahan made it clear afterwards that Lance’s performance against the Cardinals hadn’t forced him to recalibrate his thinking.
“No, nothing has changed,” Shanahan said. “It was just one game. It was a tough loss there and I will talk to our whole team tomorrow and think about how we can improve our whole team coming back from the bye.”
Shanahan also indicated that he is optimistic Garoppolo will be back in time for the Niners’ next game, which will not take place until Oct. 24 against the Indianapolis Colts. That optimism stems from Garoppolo’s closeness to playing against the Cardinals on Sunday, according to Shanahan.
But Shanahan also acknowledged that calf injuries can be tricky, as reminded in San Francisco on Saturday when he placed tight end George Kittle on the injured list with his own calf problem.
Without Kittle and facing the undefeated Cardinals, the Niners were hoping Lance could give them a spark. Sometimes that’s exactly what he has done, showcasing his ability to create yards when the plays go down.
Lance, the No.3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, led the 49ers with 16 carries for 89 yards, the most by a 49ers quarterback since Colin Kaepernick’s 113 in Week 12 of 2016. Au During the process, Lance impressed his teammates with his tenacity. , but also left some wondering if he puts himself in danger too often.
“It was fun to watch,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “He’s definitely leading the ball with force. He might have to learn to slide. He might also need to work a little on his juke swing.”
Still, Lance said he walked out of the game feeling good, noting that the only big hit he felt was Arizona linebacker Isaiah Simmons on the goal line early in the second quarter. It was doubly painful for Lance, who was stopped before the touchdown on the fourth down as the Niners walked away scoreless on a 93-yard drive.
“I have to get into the end zone for my team,” Lance said. “This is a great missed opportunity.”
Running exploits aside, Lance’s air attack was a mixed bag. He finished 15 of 29 for 192 yards and one interception, for a 58.4 passer rating. The Cardinals have hit or knocked down four of his passing attempts, including a fourth and fourth at Arizona 48 with 7:53 to go. That was the most by a Niners quarterback in the past 10 seasons.
Lance also didn’t get much help from his supporting cast as he was often under pressure, struggled to connect on down throws, and had at least three passes abandoned by receivers. Lance was 2 of 8 for 32 yards with the interception under duress and 2 of 9 for 52 yards with an interception on passes going 15 or more overhead yards, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
The 49ers were also flagged for five offensive detention penalties, all in the second half, and were 1 in 5 on the fourth down, becoming the first Niners team not to convert as many times per game since November 7. 1999. This ended in a loss in Lance’s first start and the 49ers’ third straight loss as they fell to 2-3 this season.
“These things make it harder to win,” Shanahan said. “We have to find a way to do better and I have to find a way to do ourselves better. At the start of this 2-3 week break there is still a lot of football to play, but we have to come back and we have to play better than we did. “
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