SF 49ers Lance Shows Promise in Loss to AZ
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance (5) scrambles as Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Corey Peters (98) pursues during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
2021.10.10 – Starting the game as QB1 Trey Lance completed 15 of 29 passes for 192 yards and an interception, and also led the San Francisco 49ers with 89 yards rushing in a 17-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
Lance’s first NFL start showed the 21-year-old’s tantalizing potential as an elite quarterback. It also showed why there’s more work to be done before he gets there.
The rookie was forced into action because starter Jimmy Garoppolo was out with a calf injury suffered in last week’s loss to the Seahawks.
“I thought he did some really good things,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He definitely wasn’t perfect. Nobody ever has been.”
Lance had a rough start, throwing an interception after sailing a pass past his intended receiver and right into the arms of Arizona safety Budda Baker. He was also stopped on two fourth-down runs, including one inches shy of a touchdown.
On that play, Lance scrambled to his right and looked like he was about to score, but Isaiah Simmons and Tanner Vallejo closed quickly, meeting the quarterback just before the goal line in a violent collision. It was one of several big hits Lance took during the game, though the quarterback said most of them looked worse than they actually felt.
“Obviously disappointed. I really, really wanted to win that game,” Lance said. “We will keep our heads up, learn from it. I am going to learn as much as I can from it. Get better as much as I can from it.”
The good news for the 49ers is that even though Lance was inconsistent, he never looked flustered, leading a pair of scoring drives in the second half to help the Niners keep the game close. The loss certainly wasn’t all Lance’s fault: The offensive line was called for multiple holding penalties and his receivers dropped a few passes.
“Overall, I think if we could have done a little bit better around him. I thought he did good enough to win,” Shanahan said.
2021.10.10 – (SF 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals) (NFL Video Highlights)
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) throws against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
2021.10.10 – (SF 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals) (NFL Video Highlights)
Lance, a 6-foot-4, 224-pounder out of North Dakota State, completed 9 of 18 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns after coming into the game for the injured Garoppolo in last week’s loss.
He didn’t enjoy the same success against the Cardinals, who had a week to prepare for him, but he still made a good impression on Arizona coach Kliff Kingsbury, who credited Shanahan with putting him in positions to succeed.
“I thought he had a tremendous plan for that young kid to use his legs and show off his athletic ability,” Kingsbury said. “He played tough. We needed every second to win that game.”
Now the Niners (2-3) get two weeks to rest and prepare for their next game against the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 24. That window of time will give Garoppolo a chance to get healthy. It’ll also help Lance get more practice reps if he’s needed again.
“I wanted him to go out there and play like he has been doing in practice, be comfortable around the offense in a tough environment, one that he was never in before, and for the most part I thought he did that,” Shanahan said.
San Francisco doesn’t have much margin for error. The Niners are already three games behind the Cardinals and two games behind the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West.
“It was a tough loss right there,” Shanahan said. “I am going to talk to our whole team tomorrow and think how we can get our whole team better coming back from the bye.”
2021.10.10 – (49ers @ Cardinals) (Shanahan “Nothing’s changed” Video)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance (5) scrambles as Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Isaiah Simmons (55) and Tanner Vallejo (51) make a stop during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
2021.10.10 – (49ers @ Cardinals) (Shanahan “Nothing’s changed” Video)
2021.10.10 – (49ers @ Cardinals) (Shanahan “Nothing’s changed” Video)
The Cardinals improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1974, riding a stellar defensive performance over the Niners on Sunday.
Arizona came in averaging 35 points per game, which led the NFL. This time, it was the defense that delivered, stopping the Niners and rookie quarterback Lance four times on fourth down.
Allen said the Cardinals’ defense was ready to stop the 49ers as many times as needed, though he conceded it was nice to watch quarterback Kyler Murray and the offense close it out with a couple first downs.
“At a certain point,” the 285-pound Allen said with a grin, “you want to go home and have some food.”
DeAndre Hopkins hauled in a difficult 9-yard touchdown catch with 5:13 remaining, hanging onto the football despite tight defense from San Francisco’s Josh Norman. That gave the Cardinals a 17-7 lead, enough of a cushion to close out the win.
“I take them any way we can get them,” Cardinals coach Kingsbury said. “Especially division wins. (San Francisco’s) a great team, great culture, they play so hard and play together and have great energy. So if you can beat them, that’s a great Sunday.”
Murray completed 22 of 31 passes for 239 yards. Hopkins caught six passes for 87 yards — including a 30-yard catch that set up his big touchdown reception — but said the major credit goes to the defense with the fourth-down stops.
“That’s championship football,” Hopkins said.
The 49ers have lost three in a row and struggled in many of the biggest moments, converting 1 of 5 chances on fourth down. San Francisco did out-gained Arizona 338 yards to 304.
The Cardinals settled for a 10-0 halftime lead after Matt Prater missed a 61-yard field goal attempt as time expired. The 49ers (2-3) did a good job of slowing Arizona’s offense, which has thrived with Kingsbury, Murray and Hopkins.
The 49ers finally broke through late in the third quarter when Deebo Samuel ran 13 yards for a touchdown, cutting the deficit to 10-7. Samuel came in as the NFL’s leading receiver and also proved a capable runner, taking the pitch from Lance and evading several Cardinals on the way to the end zone.
San Francisco had a few more chances in the fourth quarter but couldn’t convert on fourth downs. Kyle Juszczyk was stopped short on fourth-and-1 at the Cardinals 48. The Niners got the ball back after Arizona’s Chase Edmonds lost a fumble, but defensive lineman J.J. Watt deflected Lance’s fourth-down pass a few minutes later.
“They ended up getting it done and winning the game, but I thought there were plenty of opportunities for us to do that,” 49ers coach Shanahan said. “Especially when we got that turnover at the end. It could have been a lot closer if we executed on some of those fourth downs earlier.”
Arizona, the NFL’s only remaining undefeated team, grabbed a 7-0 lead thanks to an efficient eight-play, 66-yard first-quarter drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by James Conner.
WATT’S PRESENCE
Watt had his best game with the Cardinals, coming up with the big pass deflection in the fourth quarter and also getting his first tackle for a loss, stopping Elijah Mitchell for a 3-yard loss in the first quarter.
The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year has had a relatively slow start this season from a numbers standpoint. Even so, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has been pleased with how much attention Watt draws from opposing blockers, making it easier for other on the defense to make plays.
INJURY REPORT
49ers: DT D.J. Jones was evaluated for a concussion but returned to the game. DE Nick Bosa was dealing with an elbow injury but also returned.
Cardinals: Cornerbacks Byron Murphy Jr. and rookie Marco Wilson were both inactive because of rib injuries. … TE Maxx Williams was carted off the field in the second quarter after a knee injury. Williams caught a 14-yard pass and then his knee appeared to buckle as he ran out of bounds. … LB Ezekiel Turner (shoulder) and C Rodney Hudson (ribs) left in the third quarter.
UP NEXT
The 49ers are off next weekend before hosting the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 24.
The Cardinals travel to face the Cleveland Browns next Sunday.
Related – See below: Mostert’s Epic Dash to Super Bowl!
Related: 49ers Fall to Russell Wilson’s Seahawks
Read more at: San Francisco 49ers Media Services / More AP NFL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
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