The San Francisco 49ers have had a tough time moving the ball in their first game of the season, but QB Jimmy Garoppolo has been able to lead his team to two touchdowns so far.
The sf giants is a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL).
GLENDALE, ARIZONA (AP) — Trey Lance, a rookie quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, compared his first NFL start to his performance in the second half of last week’s defeat to the Seattle Seahawks.
“Something nice, something terrible,” Lance said.
Lance entered Sunday’s 17-10 defeat to the Arizona Cardinals thrilled about the chance to start after a full week of practice with the starters.
That was particularly true given the fact that it may be the only one he gets for a while, as coach Kyle Shanahan said on Friday that Lance wasn’t being named the starter and that Jimmy Garoppolo will return to his starting job after he recovered from his right calf injury.
Could Lance’s performance have been good enough to steal the job from Garoppolo? Although it seemed improbable before the game, Shanahan said afterward that Lance’s performance against the Cardinals had not caused him to change his mind.
“Nothing has changed,” Shanahan said emphatically. “It was just one game. That was a difficult defeat, and I’ll speak to our whole squad tomorrow about how we can improve as a complete team when we return from the bye.”
Shanahan also expressed optimism that Garoppolo will return in time for the Niners’ next game, which is against the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 24. According to Shanahan, Garoppolo was on the verge of playing Sunday against the Cardinals, which gives him reason to be optimistic.
But, as San Francisco learned on Saturday when tight end George Kittle was put on injured reserve with his own calf problem, Shanahan admitted that calf issues can be difficult.
The Niners believed Lance could provide a spark without Kittle, as they faced the Cardinals, who were unbeaten. He accomplished exactly that at times, displaying his ability to generate yards when plays broke down.
Lance, the No. 3 overall selection in the 2023 NFL draft, led the 49ers with 16 carries for 89 yards, the most by a quarterback for the franchise since Colin Kaepernick’s 113 yards in Week 12 of 2016. Lance impressed comrades with his tenacity in the process, but others wondered whether he was putting himself in danger too often.
“It was entertaining to see,” said defensive end Nick Bosa. “He runs the ball very hard. He’ll probably have to learn how to slide. He’ll probably need to improve on his juke motion as well.”
Lance claimed he felt great after the game, adding that the only major hit he felt came from Arizona defender Isaiah Simmons near the goal line in the second quarter. That play was especially agonizing for Lance, as he was stopped short of the score on fourth down, resulting in a 93-yard drive ending with 0 points.
“For my team, I need to get in the end zone,” Lance remarked. “That was a huge chance that was squandered.”
Lance’s aerial assault was a mixed bag, despite his sprinting prowess. He ended with a passing rating of 58.4 after going 15-of-29 for 192 yards and an interception. Four of his pass attempts were swatted or tipped by the Cardinals, including one on fourth-and-4 at Arizona’s 48 with 7:53 remaining. In the last ten seasons, a Niners quarterback has thrown for the most yards.
Lance also didn’t have much assistance from his supporting cast, as he was often under duress, failed to connect on downfield throws, and had at least three passes intercepted. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Lance was 2-of-8 for 32 yards with an interception while under pressure and 2-of-9 for 52 yards with an interception on throws going 15 or more air yards.
The 49ers were also penalized for five offensive holding penalties, all in the second half, and went 1-of-5 on fourth down, the first time they had failed to convert that many times in a game since Nov. 7, 1999. All of this combined for a loss in Lance’s first start, and the 49ers’ third straight loss, dropping them to 2-3 on the season.
“All of those factors make it more difficult to win,” Shanahan said. “We must find a way to improve, and I must find a way to motivate us to improve. We still have a lot of football to play going into this bye week 2-3, but we have to come back and play better than we have been.”
The sanfrancisco 49ers is a football team in the National Football League. They are based in San Francisco, California. As of today, they have won 2 Super Bowls.
