The 49ers quarterback plan vs. the Broncos was supposed to be a slightly modified, backward version of what they did vs. the Raiders. Against Las Vegas it was Trey Lance for the entire first half, then Sam Darnold for the third quarter. Brock Purdy getting the start vs. Denver through a small wrench into things, but there was some confusion when Darnold wound up playing well into the third quarter.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan leading into the game said Purdy might start, but then Darnold would play the first half with Lance entering for the second. After the game he explained the reason for the deviation from that plan.
“Yeah. I wanted to give Sam a whole half, just like we gave Trey a whole half last week,” Shanahan said. “And then Brock had a long first drive, they had a long drive and Sam’s first one went three-and-out. So, I felt like he didn’t get to even play in the first quarter except for like three plays. So, the goal was to get him a half. And at the end of the third is when we took him out, I think.”
Interestingly, while Darnold on Saturday might’ve played more game time than Lance did in the opener, they played virtually the same amount of snaps. Lance got 27 vs. the Raiders while Darnold got 29 vs. the Broncos.
Then Saturday despite entering late in the third quarter, Lance out-snapped Darnold 35-29.
If there’s any kind of lead for either player in the backup QB race it isn’t apparent by the division of their workload in practice or the first two preseason games.
