Takeaways after Trey Lance makes first start, 49ers fall to undefeated Cardinals

© Chris Coduto-USA TODAY Sports

Chaos is a beautiful thing. For better and for worse, Trey Lance’s NFL debut was exactly that. He took a 17-10 loss to the still-undefeated Arizona Cardinals, but the list of points to like about the rookie’s first start stretches far longer than the list of items to dislike.

Too many mistakes, wasted opportunities

The 49ers were called for seven penalties for 60 yards. From a qualitative perspective, it felt like far more than that, and the penalties that were committed were almost all drive killers.

Mike McGlinchey alone had two holds and a false start over a roughly five-minute span, though a couple of those penalties could be argued not to be his fault.

Still, the offensive line struggled mightily to contain J.J. Watt. Chandler Jones and Zach Allen. There were myriad pressures, many of which became penalties, batted balls, or forced Lance to run for short yardage.

There was Lance’s opening interception, which put the 49ers behind the eight ball, and then there were also the brutal, backbreaking drops by both Deebo Samuel and Mohamed Sanu.

It was a war of attrition, and despite near perfection from this defense, Kyle Shanahan’s offense was far too sloppy to win this game.

And, Lance?

With all things quarterback-related, it’s impossible to make a fair assessment of performance without seeing the coach’s film, which shows what Lance was looking at.

There were clear mistakes, like the early interception, some times in which he missed his checkdowns, and missed throws.

On the whole, though, this result was not on his shoulders. Lance finished 15-of-19 with 192 yards and that interception, and kept the offense competitive, even when facing a nonsensical number of long-yardage situations.

Lance’s ability to escape the pocket is an element which fundamentally alters how defenses play the 49ers, and while it’s clear the adjustment period for him and for the rest of the offense will have growing pains, it is clearly a process worth embarking upon right now.

The blueprint

Here was the recipe for the 49ers to win, as laid out here, and the verdicts:

Win the turnover differential: No. It was split 1-1. Lance opened with a bad interception, but Dontae Johnson got the 49ers their first turnover since Dre Greenlaw’s Week 1 pick-six with a monumental strip of Christian Kirk. They were also, potentially, robbed of a safety, though that’s debatable. The Cardinals were called for a hold just in front of their own end zone.

Establish the run, and do it early: Yes. The 49ers ran for 79 yards in the first half, with Lance running nine times for 47 yards, which is probably too many. But they established a viable running game from the start, leaning on Elijah Mitchell, who finished with nine carries for 43 yards. Lance had 16 carries for 89 yards in total.

Control the time of possession: Yes. Before this game, the Cardinals had won the time of possession in every game they’d played in. Despite the 49ers’ astonishing penalty issues, they controlled the ball and kept it out of Kyler Murray’s hands with a roughly four-minute disparity.

Be aggressive on fourth down when the opportunity is there: Yes. This was as clear as day. Shanahan was as aggressive on fourth down as he’s ever been. Below is the analytics calculator for when teams should go for it on fourth down.

The problem, though, was that some of the decisions were lacking in creativity. The first attempt was a slow-developing run by Lance in which he got stuffed. The near-touchdown by Lance put him in harm’s way. The sneak attempt with Kyle Juszczyk came from a full yard out and was shown on film from last week; the Cardinals recognized it. The last throw was just unfortunate, with J.J. Watt swatting the pass.

Put Lance in positions which are comfortable to him: Mixed. Lance ran multiple zone reads and designed quarterback runs, plus some deep dropback passes which were similar to the deep shot opportunities he got at North Dakota State. Those opportunities put the pass rush and entire field in front of him, giving him clear chances to escape the pocket. But at the same time, there was a decided lack of the rollouts and naked bootlegs in which he excels.

The 49ers came exceedingly close to accomplishing the things they needed to accomplish to win. But some questionable fourth-down play calls, bad beats, and too many mistakes, in the form of drops and ill-timed penalties, made waste of what had the potential to be an incredible win.

 

Stay connected

 

Subscribe to The Bone's weekly eblast to get the latest on contests, events and exclusives from your favorite 107.7 personalities and artists.

Headlines

Bone Rock Night Out Is Back

State Line Empire, Modern Monsters and Tangent will be at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco on Saturday, April 20th.