So much of what came out of the past week's joint practices and preseason game with the Los Angeles Chargers seemed to be a positive for the San Francisco 49ers, starting with what the week meant for the development of rookie quarterback Trey Lance.
The joint practices marked the first time Lance matched up against players from another NFL team, then he finished the week by going 8-of-14 for 102 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the 15-10 win over the Chargers on Sunday evening. Lance told reporters after the game that he'll be taking quite a bit from the past few days after spending the previous weeks of his early NFL career practicing against his 49ers teammates.
"I think this week was huge just for my development as a football player and not even necessarily for tonight, if that makes sense," Lance said. "I think I learned so much this week getting to practice against another defense, getting to be around different guys and have a different experience, practice in a different setting. So I learned a lot for sure and at the same time got to take all those reps those this that I would have against our defense back in Santa Clara."
Lance didn't get to face the Chargers' first-team defense during the game due to their decision to keep their top players on the sidelines. But he did get a chance to face them during joint practices when 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan had him run some reps with the first-team offense. Shanahan did that in part so Lance would have some first-team experience before taking the field Sunday, but he also did it to give Lance a look at the type of high-end talent he'd face during the regular season, such as Chargers edge rusher Joey Bosa and safety Derwin James.
"I didn't want it to be the first time here in the second quarter, the second drive," Shanahan said Sunday night. "So I was thinking about doing it and I wanted to see how he did out there. But it's also because I wanted him to go against Bosa and Derwin James and people like that. It was the one move the ball period we had."
Sunday's game proved to be vital for Lance in that he got another opportunity to run the two-minute offense after doing so in the preseason opener against Kansas City. But after falling short in that situation against the Chiefs, Lance succeeded against the Chargers when he led the 49ers on a touchdown drive before the end of the first half. The touchdown came after a slow start to the game for Lance, giving him another positive experience when he showed the ability to bounce back and flourish into the third quarter.
"I thought we had a chance to start early pretty fast and we didn't, then it started to stack up a little bit where it seemed it was going in the wrong direction," Shanahan said. "That's why I was pumped about getting that two-minute drill at the end. Trey can't get enough two-minute drives in the league before the regular season starts, so I was pumped with that. Then what he did in the third quarter I was real happy with how he finished."
How much time Lance spends in a learning role before being made the captain of the ship on offense remains to be seen. But to this point, Lance's first preseason has been filled with important lessons that will help him as he prepares to eventually step in as the starting quarterback. He'll surely learn a bit more in the days ahead as the 49ers begin settling into regular season mode as they prepare for the preseason finale against the Raiders.
"I think just the number of reps that I've had, not only in games but just the practice reps, practicing against our defense, I feel like I've learned so much every single rep that I take, no matter if it's in a game or in a practice," Lance said. " And obviously in joint practices this week, I got to learn a ton. And those are just different situations, different experiences that I have. I guess my mindset more is once I make a mistake I'm trying not to making again. That's kind of how I remember and I think that's the best way to learn."
