Trey Lance and many of the San Francisco 49ers' starters played in Thursday night's 17-0 preseason loss to the Houston Texans, an ugly affair in which the offense never found its footing.
Lance played three series -- 22 snaps -- completing 7 of 11 passes for 49 yards, was sacked once, and scrambled once for one yard.
"I wish it was cleaner, just from a whole, but I'm not going to make too much out of it," head coach Kyle Shanahan said of Lance, via The Mercury News. "There weren't too many opportunities and we got in some long down-and-distances, which made it tough."
Lance made a couple of good throws, including a 14-yard connection with Malik Turner, but continued to struggle with short-range accuracy. He missed tight end George Kittle on a short toss and couldn’t connect with Deebo Samuel down the sideline.
With starting offensive tackles Mike McGlinchey and Trent Williams sitting, the protection wasn't great for Lance as the Niners continue to work through revamping the O-line. On three drives with Lance under center, the Niners collected five first downs, including one via penalty.
"Some ugly stuff out there, for sure. It definitely wasn't our best night," Lance said. "We're not going to make too big of a deal from it. We'll watch film, learn from it and get better. These 17 days (of practice) will be super important for us for Chicago."
Following their run to the NFC Championship Game, the Niners put all their eggs in the Lance basket in 2022. The preseason showed there will be growing pains, but the young quarterback needs all the reps he can get to continue to develop.
It's easy to dismiss preseason games, especially with some starters sitting, but come Sept. 11 in Chicago, the real tests begin for Lance and the 49ers.
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