The 49ers open up their preseason slate Sunday at Allegiant Stadium vs. the Las Vegas Raiders. While it marks the first game of the year for San Francisco, the scoreboard is far less consequential than the battle going on on the 49ers’ side of the field between Trey Lance and Sam Darnold.
Lance vs. Darnold is the No. 1 position battle in camp for the 49ers and Sunday will be the first real opportunity to see them both in action against an opposing defense. It could be a substantial turning point for the fate of the team’s QB depth chart.
Here’s how head coach Kyle Shanahan has said the playing time will go for each QB, along with what we’re looking for out of each of them Sunday:
Brock Purdy
Purdy is not projected to play, which was anticipated and exactly what should happen. The hope with Purdy is that he sits out the entire game and continues to get healthy while working his way toward suiting up for Week 1 in Pittsburgh. He got about half a game’s worth of snaps in Friday’s scrimmage with the Raiders, which is plenty of work for him at this point in the preseason.
Trey Lance
Shanahan said on KNBR in San Francisco that Lance will start and play most of, if not all, the first half. This is a huge opportunity for Lance to put some of his off-season improvements to the test in live game reps. His quicker throwing motion has to translate, and he needs to continue connecting consistently in the intermediate areas of the field the way he has in practice. Ideally though he’d hit some of the easy, short throws built into the offense to show he can do that with some consistency as well. If Lance can string together extended drives it would be a really nice win for him in the battle for the backup QB spot.
Sam Darnold
Shanahan also told KNBR that Darnold will be the QB for most of, if not all, the second half. With Darnold it would be good to see him push the ball down the field with some success. He’s relied a lot on shorter throws in training camp, which is fine, but there has to be some more versatility in his throws. Darnold has the arm to make any throw on the field and this is a good opportunity in the second half of a preseason game to show that off. Perhaps the biggest keys with Darnold though will be how his timing is in the offense and whether he’s getting the ball out on time to the right spot, and that he doesn’t turn the ball over. Interceptions have been a problem for him in his career and cutting those down will be one of his big hurdles to clear in trying to win the backup job.
Brandon Allen
Allen should probably get a couple series late in the game after getting no 11-on-11 work in joint practices with the Raiders. It will all depend on how many series Lance and Darnold get though. Those two are the priority, but Allen should get a little time if he’s gonna take a roster spot. All he’d need to do is look like comfortable running the offense to check the boxes the 49ers coaches are hoping he’ll check en route to trying to keep him in the building after final cuts.
