Trey Lance’s preseason finale got better as it went along, but it was mostly lackluster. He finished the evening 7-of-11 for 49 yards in three scoreless drives. He finished 6-of-7 though after beginning 1-of-4.
The raw numbers aren’t bad, especially when considering the play of the offensive line. Neither of the 49ers starting offensive tackles played and it showed. Houston’s defensive front dominated against the run and had Lance under siege virtually every time he dropped back.
One silver lining to all the pressure is Lance nicely evaded the pass rush a couple times to avoid a negative play.
The bad news is Lance’s inaccuracy showed several times. He missed a couple tough throws on the run, missed a couple of “layups,” and completed a couple throws in spots that didn’t allow for yards after the catch.
There was also a nice deep shot that fell incomplete intended for Deebo Samuel. The ball was good though.
Overall it was a frenetic effort that’s hard to parse because the offensive line’s play was so bad. The accuracy woes will likely plague Lance throughout the year though. Whether that improves remains to be seen, but it’s going to be up to head coach Kyle Shanahan to find what throws Lance excels at and put him in spots to make those throws.
On to Chicago where the 49ers will have to live with the bad that comes with the good Lance provides.
