San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance is entering his first year as the starter and the early struggles are showing a bit. Lance didn't have the best preseason performance Thursday night, but rather than focusing on the struggles, he says he's not putting stock into the 17-0 loss to the Houston Texans.
Lance finished the game 7 of 11 for 49 yards in three series of action. Afterward, he spoke about his offense's production.
"Some ugly stuff out there, for sure," Lance said. "It definitely wasn't our best night. 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."
The matchup against the Texans was the team's last preseason game. The Niners' next game is away against the Bears on Sunday, Sept. 11, giving Lance his first chance to show the team what he can do as a starter in the regular season.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan is also not too worried about the less-than-impressive play from Lance and does not seem to concerned about moving forward with the 22-year-old.
"I wish it was cleaner, just from a whole, but I'm not going to make too much out of it, Shanahan said via the Mercury News. "There weren't too many opportunities and we got in some long down-and-distances, which made it tough."
The Niners transitioned from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to Lance, going all-in on the former No. 3 overall pick. Despite many thinking Garoppolo would be traded, he is still employed by the 49ers.
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.
