The 49ers got their preseason underway Sunday against the Raiders in Las Vegas. Trey Lance got the start under center with a chance to stake his claim to the backup quarterback job he’s battling Sam Darnold for.
Lance got the entire first half under center for San Francisco. He got six series and led just one scoring drive while operating under heavy pressure early in the game. He finished 10-of-15 for 121 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions, but he did have a couple near INTs and he took four sacks.
Here’s a drive-by-drive look at Lance’s outing:
First drive
Drive start: First quarter, 14:54, SF 25
Lance opened the first drive by taking a sack, but it’s hard to blame him for that one. The Raiders defensive line was all over him as soon as he got to the top of his drop.
After that sack Lance made a nice checkdown throw in the flat to tight end Ross Dwelley to set up a third-and-manageable. It was a play action look where Lance could’ve let a throw rip deep, but he chose the shorter throw and made a nice toss on a route he’s struggled with.
The first series ended with another sack. This time it was all on Lance. He stepped up in the pocket and pump faked a throw to an open receiver. He has to let that throw go. Head coach Kyle Shanahan won’t like seeing that.
Second drive
Drive start: First quarter, 7:14, SF 18
Things didn’t get better for Lance in his second series. A first-down handoff put the team in a second-and-7. On second down Lance ran a play-action boot with a lot of pressure from the defensive end. He did a nice job to stay calm and find Dwelley for a completion. It wasn’t a great throw back across his body and Dwelley had to haul it in with one hand.
On third-and-5 Las Vegas brought a blitz. Lance did well to hang out in the pocket and keep his eyes downfield, but his throw to Charlie Woerner into a tight window went wide and fell incomplete.
Back-to-back three-and-outs is not how the 49ers or Lance wanted to start.
Third drive
Drive start: First quarter, 2:22, SF 14
Another three-and-out. Lance badly sailed a first down throw to Dwelley in the flat. That was the same throw he hit perfectly earlier, and a miss now is a good illustration of the inconsistency that’s plagued Lance.
He did well to escape a sack on second down after immediately getting pressured up the middle. Ideally though he’d take off to try and pick up real yardage. Instead he rolled out and kept his eyes up to throw before scrambling ahead for two yards. On third down he was sacked again with multiple Raiders defensive linemen in his face almost immediately.
It’s hard to evaluate the QB in conditions like this, but there have been more bad plays than good so far.
Fourth drive
Drive start: Second quarter, 12:22, SF 39
This is more what the 49ers would hope to see from Lance. There were a couple of layup throws drawn up and he hit them both with ease. He also made a nice play when he escaped the pocket and started to run, but quickly dumped it to WR Willie Snead IV for a first down. That improvisational stuff is part of why the 49ers took Lance No. 3 overall.
While the fourth drive ended with a Lance TD pass, it’s not what the 49ers wanted to see. He threw late on play action to a wide open Chris Conley. His delay allowed a Raiders DB to get hands on the ball for what should’ve been an interception. Instead it tipped directly to Dwelley for a TD. That’s a touchdown on the stat sheet, but it’s not the way the coaching staff wanted it done.
Fifth drive
Drive start: Second quarter, 6:58, SF 35
Another sack started the fifth series. This one is on Lance. He held the ball entirely too long on play action. The ball has to come out. There was more good improv on second down though after he escaped a crowded pocket to hit Woerner for a short pickup on a play that could’ve easily gone for a loss. Lance followed that with a money throw for 17 yards to Conley for a first down on third-and-10. It was a well-timed, well-placed throw.
There was a second-and-5 incompletion on a screen, but it’s hard to blame Lance for it. He made a good play to get a throw off against heavy pressure, but RB Jordan Mason dropped it. The drive ended with third and fourth-down handoffs to Mason. Neither went well and for the fourth time in five drives the 49ers offense came up empty.
Sixth drive
Drive start: Second quarter, 0:28, SF 17
Overall the final drive of the half was a good one for Lance. It started poorly with another near interception on a late throw over the middle. However, he settled in to drill a throw in to Conley for 24 yards. Then he found Fumagalli over the middle for 22 yards. An unnecessary roughness penalty put the 49ers at the Raiders 20. Lance took a shot to Conley in the end zone, but overthrew it. Again, it came out a little late which allowed some pressure to affect the throw.
Lance did well to get the team into field goal range at the end of the half. That’s a positive, to be sure. The theme of not recognizing windows quick enough prevailed through his entire outing though.
