Getty Trey Lance throws in the rain on September 11, 2022.
The rain wasn’t just the only thing that showered Trey Lance and the San Francisco 49ers in Chicago on Sunday, September 11.
So was the criticism directed toward Lance.
At a monsoon soaked Soldier Field, the 49ers blew a 10-point lead and ended up getting stunned 19-10 by the Bears.
Many fans and critics pointed to penalties as what doomed the 49ers — with the yellow marking getting tossed 12 times on the 49ers compared to just three on the Bears’ side. Others blamed mother nature for slowing down Lance and the 49ers. But others put the loss on Lance.
“Trey Lance is clearly not ready…couldn’t handle a 4-man rush and stared down a receiver for a horrible pick…let’s not give credit to the bears defense and blame everyone else,” one fan said.
“I don’t believe Trey Lance is ready to be prime time yet,” another said.
There was an Ex-NFL head coach who criticized the 49ers for going with Lance before the Sunday prime time evening game. Lance, however, took the honest road with Sunday’s performance.
5-Word Admission From Lance
The second-year passer was the losing quarterback against a fellow 2021 NFL Draft classmate who the 49ers passed over for the North Dakota State star.
Justin Fields, who fell out of the top 10 at No. 11 overall after Lance went No. 3, ended his afternoon throwing more touchdowns (2) than Lance. He also had the higher quarterback rating at 85.7.
Lance did show some flashes of potential, especially on this strike to Jauan Jennings:
Trey Lance hits Jennings deep. Jennings beats Kyler Gordon
And using his legs to convert this crucial third and long:
Trey Lance makes a great play to convert 3rd and 13! #FTTB
But what was Lance’s final numbers through the inclement weather? He was 13-of-28, racked up 164 yards, threw zero touchdown passes and tossed this interception that many believe turned the tide of the game:
That pick ultimately led to the final touchdown of the game. But what was Lance’s reaction to the loss? Lance was honest with himself with his first five words.
“I made too many mistakes,” Lance admitted to reporters.
He continued by outlining his own mistakes.
“Defense kept us in the game. Had a big miss too to Tyler Kroft in the end zone. I tried to throw a perfect ball and just tried to put it right on him and he was wide open. Turned the ball over, took a sack that knocked us out of field goal range and I shouldn’t have missed Deebo [Samuel] on that third down [incompletion], missed another third down to Jauan, just too many mistakes,” Lance said. “A lot of stuff to clean up for sure for me. But excited and still got my head up. Excited to get ready for next week. Just too many mistakes. On the field, it’s much easier to turn the page but when we lose it’s much tougher. Just frustrated with myself a little bit. I feel I’m better than that.”
TREY LANCE: “Just frustrated with myself a little bit. Feel like I’m a lot better than that.”
Defenders & Critics of Lance Come Out
As anticipated, Lance became a trendy topic on Twitter in his 2022 debut.
Some defended Lance, including The Athletic’s David Lombardi:
What we learned today is that Trey Lance isn’t good enough to overcome 12 penalties in a monsoon, at least yet. And I think essentially everyone already knew that coming in
Also KOA Colorado reporter Benjamin Allbright:
People melting down after a season opener in torrential rain? Lol.
Josh Allen wouldn’t have been Josh Allen without patience.
Maybe have some for Trey Lance…
But others already mentioned Jimmy Garoppolo:
@Rob_Lowder If that’s the offense they are going to run with Trey Lance… then I’d sooner have Jimmy G start.
Meanwhile, new NBC Sunday Night Football analyst and former NFL head coach Jason Garrett criticized the move to start Lance during Football Night in America by saying how the 49ers are forcing it with Lance — implying Garoppolo should start.
In the end, Lance decided to take the high road. But also gave a six-word admission about himself in the end.
“We’re just going to keep our head up, keep grinding,” Lance said to reporters. “It’s a long season. Sixteen more of these things in the regular season, so I’m excited for next week. Those guys did a great job up front. They did a great job. Receivers made a bunch of plays. Running backs made a bunch of plays. I’ve just got to be better.”