At this point, fans seem OK with the idea of rookie quarterback Trey Lance getting some valuable in-game experience moving forward. Unfortunately, the San Francisco 49ers don't look like a playoff team and couldn't manage a win against an Arizona Cardinals squad that lacked stars Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins.
It's not only that San Francisco lost. The team was embarrassed at home — their eighth consecutive home defeat. The score ended up being 31-17, but it didn't even feel that close.
Fans "probably" won't see Lance get the start next week against the Los Angeles Rams. Shanahan was asked if he would even consider making a switch at quarterback.
"Probably not," Shanahan said while letting out a mild laugh, "but definitely not thinking about those things right now. I'm thinking about this game and the rest of our team."
Shanahan added that he never considered putting Lance into the game to give the young quarterback some experience, even on the last drive with the win well out of reach.
Shanahan typically praises his veteran quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, after games. This time, the coach sounded less enthusiastic about Garoppolo's performance.
"I thought Jimmy was alright," Shanahan said. "I thought that pick at the end, those last couple of plays were some bad plays right there, on that last drive when the game was out of hand. But Jimmy was alright."
Garoppolo finished the game 28-of-40 passing for 326 yards, two touchdowns, an interception, and a passer rating of 100.6. The Cardinals sacked him five times.
Garoppolo hurt?
Apparently, Garoppolo didn't escape the game unscathed. He admitted that his "lower leg" was injured on the roughing-the-passer penalty in the second half.
"It'll be fine," Garoppolo said.
However, reporters noticed that the quarterback didn't look too comfortable during the post-game press conferences.
Jimmy Garoppolo said his "lower leg" got hurt on roughing-the-passer penalty in second half. Said he was OK. Looked a bit gimpy as he left auditorium after presser. #49ers
— Eric Branch (@Eric_Branch) November 8, 2021
