The San Francisco 49ers lost to the Tennessee Titans 20-17, and they have no one to blame but themselves.
The 49ers had the opportunity to put Tennessee away early in the second quarter, but Jimmy Garoppolo missed on two throws and kept the Titans in the game.
After holding Tennessee scoreless and allowing only 2.6 yards per play in the first half, the 49ers defense struggled to get off the field throughout the second half. This allowed Tennessee to climb back into the game and eventually steal the win on a 44-yard field goal from Randy Bullock with only four seconds left to play.
Here are the answers to the five questions I asked before the game:
- Who creates the most turnovers? Tennessee
Coming into this game it was clear that Tennessee would win the game if they won the turnover battle, and that’s exactly what happened as they intercepted Jimmy Garoppolo twice.
The first interception took points off the board for the 49ers when Janoris Jenkins stepped in front of George Kittle in the endzone.
The second interception came on the 49ers first offensive play of the second half.
Tennessee had just driven the ball down the field on San Francisco for the first time in the game to pull within seven. Garoppolo was late trying to hit Deebo Samuel over the middle and the ball floated into the hands of Titans safety Amani Hooker. Hooker would return the ball 23 yards to the 49ers 18-yard line and Tennessee would cash in for a touchdown to tie the game at 10.
- Can the 49ers move the ball on the ground? Yes and No
It looked like the run game would be tough sledding for San Francisco and it was. While the 49ers would end the game with 83 yards rushing on 21 carries, those numbers get skewed due to a couple of big runs from Deebo Samuel. Samuel would pick up 32 yards on only five carries, but no other 49er would even be close to four yards per carry.
Jeff Wilson Jr found some success early on, but he would be held to only 45 yards on 14 carries while JaMycal Hasty was held to only three yards on his lone carry.
- Will Jimmy Garoppolo be able to carry the offense? NO
Tennessee came into this game allowing the fourth lowest passer rating (70.5) on throws over the middle of the field in the league, making this a difficult matchup for Garoppolo who is at his best working over the middle of the field.
You wouldn’t have known this early in the game as Garoppolo led the 49ers offense for a touchdown on the first possession of the game, hitting all five of his targets for 59 yards.
It was much the same on the next possession as Garoppolo would hit on his first three throws for 45 yards. That’s when disaster struck.
Facing second and goal from the Titans eight, Garoppolo would try to force the ball to George Kittle in the endzone and Titans cornerback Janoris Jenkins would step in front of the tight end for an interception. Coming away from this possession with no points would prove to be costly.
Things didn’t get much better as Garoppolo would miss Kyle Juszczyk with an inaccurate throw. Juszczyk was wide open and likely could have reached the endzone with an accurate throw from Garoppolo. The 49ers would settle for a field goal on the possession.
If these weren’t bad enough, along came the interception on the opening play of the second half which was mentioned earlier.
To Garoppolo’s credit, he continued to battle and led the 49ers on a 95-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 17.
The key play on this drive was a 56-yard strike to Deebo Samuel. Garoppolo hit the 49ers top playmaker in stride over the middle and Samuel split the defense to set the offense up at the Tennessee six. Two plays later Garoppolo would find Brandon Aiyuk over the middle for the two-yard touchdown.
Garoppolo would finish the night with 26 completions on 35 attempts for 322 yards along with the one touchdown and two interception and a quarterback rating of 88.7. This marked the first time since before Halloween that Garoppolo was unable to post a passer rating over 90.
- Can the 49ers defense stop the run? YES
Tennessee came into this game averaging 4.8 yards per rushing. The 49ers defense was able to limit the Titans to only 90 yards on 24 carries, 3.8 yards per attempt.
Former 49er Jeremy McNichols led Tennessee with 31 yards on seven carries, and D’Onta Foreman was able to plow through the 49ers defense for a three-yard touchdown to tie the game at 10 in the third quarter.
The biggest run of the game for Tennessee wasn’t even on a running play, it came on a scramble from quarterback for 23 yards on the final drive of the game.
- Will the 49ers defense be able to keep Ryan Tannehill down? NO
As the first half ended the answer to this question looked as though it would be a resounding yes.
Then came the second half.
Tannehill caught fire in the second half as the 49ers defense would allow Tennessee to convert on third and fifteen, third and seven, third and ten, third and twenty-three and third and 10 during the two second half drives which sandwiched the Jimmy Garoppolo interception in the third quarter. And this happened despite Tennessee playing its backup left guard and third string left tackle.
Dillon Radunz made the first start of his career at left tackle for Tennessee. The rookie had played a total of 53 offensive snaps coming into this game. On the other side was David Quessenberry. The San Jose State product is one of the lowest rated tackles in the NFL. On Thursday night they held Nick Bosa to a total of one hit on Ryan Tannehill.
The third down conversions don’t solely fall on the defensive line; however, it’s well known that the cornerback position for San Francisco is a position of weakness. Tennessee attacked Josh Norman and Ambry Thomas relentlessly in the second half and it paid off.
It was Thomas who gave up a 42-yard completion to A.J. Brown allowing Tennessee to convert the third and twenty-three, and Josh Norman who was beaten by Brown for the go ahead score in the fourth quarter.
With the game tied late in the fourth quarter it was Tannehill’s legs that made the difference. After a pass interference on Marcell Harris gave Tennessee a first down near midfield, Tannehill was able to escape the pocket and scramble for a 23-yard gain down to the 49ers 31 setting up the game winning field goal by Randy Bullock.
Prediction
49ers 20 Titans 23
I am sorry but this play was so much more than that!!! It was 3rd and 23 and there was 8 seconds left in the quarter and the Titans had just taken a sack. They were going to let the quarter run out. They lined up in single-back with Tannehill under center. Hello!!! 3rd and 23 and that’s the formation how does the defense not realize what’s going on? They bated Bosa and Willis into a free play that turned into a 43 yard throw to Brown. Where is the communication from Warner?
Garoppolo does that BS snap count too before every 2 min warning and quarter end and it never works. Who is that unaware!!! No one is talking about this but it’s such an inexcusable thing to let slip up.
And it was Key that jumped not Willis or Bosa. I guess it was just a Key play in the game.
Two things stood out to me this game. Jimmy throws off his back foot often. The interceptions that tend to stick out to me the most are the ones he sails over WR’s heads going across the deep middle. The DB always looks like he’s catch a pooch punt. I wonder how much those sailing passes have to do with him throwing off his back foot.
Second. Jimmy’s good. Real good. I would say great but good. However, if Kyle doesn’t know by now you can’t truly rely on Jimmy’s arm, it’s not Jimmy’s fault it’s Kyle. He needs to run the ball more. Even if that means making Deebo the #1 back. Run the. dang ball. Take pressure off of JG. Scheme up motions and shifts to move Deebo out of the backfield to get him one on ones with LB’s. Running the football is our bread and butter. We’re at our best when we run the ball 30+ times. If that needs to be Deebo in the meantime. Make it happen.
Jimmy throws off his back foot because he regularly does not have a proper pocket to throw from. Opposing defenses virtually always have a huge push up the middle which forces him to stay deep and allow the edge rushers to get around the tackles and cause him to hurry. I don’t want to seem like a Jimmy apologist but why is it that our opponents QBs can throw to wide open receivers that we just cannot cover and Jimmy is so often trying to force passes into very tight windows with at least two and sometimes three defenders in close proximity. I’d like to know what his alternatives are because it is clear that taking a sack is pretty much the kiss of death to most of our drives with Kyle’s schemes. Finally, I have one “burning question”: why do any of our opponents even attempt to run against us other than to run out the clock? A.J. Brown could have had at least two more TDs if they had come out throwing from the get go. If he had held up his hand and said: “They’re throwing to me on this play”, we could not have stopped him. On the other hand, they took Kittle completely out of the game. Must have been Jimmy’s fault.
I agree that Jimmy had to throw into tight coverages much of the time. I don’t care who the QB is sometimes in those situations you are going to get a pick. The one thing I’d like Jimmy to do more, is throw it away when there is no good option rather than too risky a throw or get sacked.
There were a number of reasons why we lost that game including the 2 picks but equally as bad was all the deep throws on 3 rd down that we couldn’t stop. Our passing defense has been very good this year up until the second half of this game.
You people are unreal. Watch this and tell me he doesn’t have time or a clean pocket to throw from:
https://mobile.twitter.com/EpicHighlights_/status/1474214707343106051
Literally he could have held the ball for even additional time and 5+ seconds would have passed without anyone near him.
Give me a break. Stop being an apologist and call a spade for what it is.
This is the other INT. Please tell me how you find him under duress on this throw. Literally he’s as clean as he can be:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q2xYTgHFjE
Here’s perhaps his worst throw of the night (complete miss to Juszczyk):
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q2xYTgHFjE
Again 5+ seconds in the pocket, completely clean.
This is an NFL quarterback we’re talking about who can’t make easy practice throws on game day.
How much cleaner of a pocket, how much more time to throw, and how much more open does the receiver need to be on this play???
Missed Jusczcyk throw:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqbgyv67VgI
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=46L64FbuYTU
This is not as easy a throw that people make it out to be. He’s wide open but, but the timing has to be perfect otherwise it’s a pick for the safety. Also let’s not forget that’s a FB 25 yards down the field, which means the throw has to be perfect.
Unreal.
Please tell me your last name isn’t Garoppolo?
Who said anything about duress? I said he threw into tight windows which is what his teammates said. I get it that you don’t like Jimmy but I have different opinion and quite frankly m tired of your never ending mantra and negativity.
Your excuse for him is he’s having to throw into tight windows? Because time in the pocket has nothing to do with that? Ask yourself why he’s forcing these throws then. If he’s not under duress, why is he making these horrible decisions? I don’t agree with that take anyway. There’s plenty of evidence of him throwing picks or sailing his throws when guys are quite open.
Frankly your takes are bad enough to be commenting on mine. Let’s start with your 1st rounder comp for Garoppolo.
The pick to Kittle in end zone I am not that upset about. It was where the ball was supposed to go. Jenkins made a play and Jimmy could have thrown it away and lived to play another down. But I can’t be made at Jimmy for having the confidence to throw it to George in a tight window in the red zone.
More like his lack of confidence to throw out on the flat to Wilson Jr., for at least a few yards and live another day. He simply can’t make that throw since it’s outside the numbers.
BTW you seem awfully okay with the end zone INT. That’s a real momentum killer. But then my name isn’t James Foster Garoppolo so I don’t really know. 😆
Did you hear Shanahan analysis on it? If it’s on Jimmy, Shanahan doesn’t hesitate to call him out.
All QB’s throw into tight coverage, it’s the NFL. The best QB’s DO NOT throw into triple coverage. And if there are 3-4 people bracketing 1 receiver, I can almost guarantee you there’s someone else open.
I really believe in Jimmy G more than the most but I disagree here. The offensive line is playing well this year they deserve no blame for his INT’s. You can see Jimmy mentally deteriorate on these off games. It starts with a wide open miss or inaccurate throw. Then it’s another. Then he’s seeing ghosts in the pocket and gets jittery. Then it’s an INT or almost INT.
I give Shanahan credit though because he went right back to him. I have been encouraged as well to see Jimmy step up in the 4th quarter drives this year. Would like to see the defense make a stop.
Hey KY49ER! Great to see you again.
I’m always lurking. I appreciate you for taking over. I’ve always enjoyed your point of view on all things 49ers.
I’ve gone fully over to the Start Trey Lance side now. The 49ers are 8-7. They aren’t going to do anything in the playoffs if they make it. Jimmy Garoppolos performance last night was just pathetic. On top of missing easy throws and throwing picks the number of bad reads was way too high. Start Trey Lance now.
And how many game losing drives is DeMeco Ryan’s defense going to give up this year. Are we up to 4 now? Ryan’s has been out coached in the 2nd half all year. Offenses make adjustments and he’s lost. 49ers have decent stats because they have talent. How many 3rd & 10+ are you going to give up before you figure out you need to adjust your D calls?
Have said it here before. This team and its management and ownership are cursed, They could have picked Mac Jones, as Shanahan quietly wished, and been on the way to their sixth Super Bowl win. Instead, Jed York, bowing to the pressure of Grant Cohn and the fans, insisted on a fellow who “is not ready” and may never be and continued to play hapless Jimmy G who clearly is incapable of rising to the challenge. When, if the Yorks sell, the 49ers will get back on track. Until then, expect more of the same. Bah humbug.
Grant Cohn! Grant Cohn is nobody.
LOL. The most ridiculous comment I’ve ever seen in my decade plus on this board. And that includes the Cohn and sebnynah eras.
He also made that all up.I’ve never seen anyone else even come close to saying something so ridiculous although, I don’t read Cohn and he is capable of saying something that self serving.
Hey Faithless, a disappointment for sure. But raise your hand if you had this pegged as a win in your pre-season picks.
2 awful ints from Jimmy, that miss to Juice, but don’t overlook Titans converting 9 3rd downs, with an average 11 yards to go. Defense was gassed reflecting the travel and very short week. The upside is during this mini-bye Niners can lick their wounds and let anger fester over one that got away. I wouldn’t want to be the Texans or Rams.
So while 5 seed and division are both out of reach, this still wasn’t a must-win. If the team can put together 3 mistake-free games in the postseason, a tall order considering the regular season, there’s plenty of reason to believe they can beat anyone.
A preseason pick for the Titans was reasonable because they were potentially going to be a better team than the 49ers. That was not the case though. The 49ers were clearly a better team overall than the Titans. The difference between the win and the loss was Jimmy Garoppolo was the QB for the 49ers and Ryan Tannehill was the QB for the Titans. That is the source of frustration for fans. Nothing to do with faithless or faithful in their reaction. You are right that this wasn’t a Must Win but it was definitely a Shoulda Won. Jimmy G has too many of those Shoulda Coulda Woulda games.
So you don’t believe in the maxim, “you are what your record is”? Titans record, the teams they’ve beaten, make a forceful argument for them being the better team.
And Niners D thanks you for overlooking letting them convert all those 3rd and 10 plus yards. Well done! 👍👍👍
The Titans weren’t ready to compete with the 49ers last night. They aren’t the same team without Derick Henry. The came into last night’s game having lost 3 of their last 4 games. The entire left side of the OL was out, including their Center. They have one quality WR right now, and that guy just came off of IR before last night’s game.
Yah, the defense struggled on 3rd down, but only AFTER being demoralized by their QB who seemed bound and determined to singlehandedly give the game away, no matter how the rest of the team performed.
This game really came down to two players: Garoppolo, and Tannehill. And Tannehill stepped up, while Garoppolo stepped down, and ALMOST singlehandedly handed the game over to the Titans!
And that’s why Jimmy Garoppolo is being shamed by the media this Christmas Eve.
And Jimmy’s postgame aw-shucks attitude is clearly grating at this stage of the season, not only on the fans, but also his teammates!
And how bad is Trey Lance, if he can’t even contribute a single snap? This season would be laughable if it wasn’t such a waste!
The defense was “demoralized “ by Jimmy, was it? So you have insight into their collective mental state , do you? Well Freud, if that’s the case for their collapse, they have no business being professionals.
You tie Rob P. for the most idiotic nonsensical posting today.
lol, it doesn’t exactly take an expert to spot the 49ers weakest link last night.
I am almost more embarrassed for your apologetic defense of Jimmy, than I am for Jimmy’s pathetic performance last night …. almost!
The 49ers defense shut the Titans out on the road, in the first half last night, and held them to 20 points total. The problem is, football is a game of momentum. When you fail to capitalize on scoring opportunity after scoring opportunity, thereby letting a team that has no business hanging around, hand around, things can go bad rather quickly. Especially when your QB is essentially setting the opponent up inside his own 20 yard line.
SMH!
I am not letting the defense completely off the hook, but they aren’t the reason the 49ers lost last night, and I think you know that, Ribico.
278 yards! That’s all the 49ers defense gave up last night!
Does Ribico even know how many yards the #1 defense in the NFL gives up per-game this season?
Here’s a hint: More than 278 yards!
SMH!
Shannon Sharpe: “If you watched the game, a game that should have been 17-0, maybe 21-0, he (Jimmy) kept the Titans in the ballgame. Jimmy G cost his team the game.”
BTW, did you guys see Kyle’s sideline reaction when Jimmy missed Aiyuk on the 4th down play? It was priceless.
When Jimmy plays poorly, the 49ers lose. Why? He’s the QUARTERBACK, that’s why!
I do have to say that Kyle’s inability to play with a lead, is definitely a chronic part of the problem with the 49ers, but it mostly goes to Kyle’s inability to fix the QB position, 5 years into his tenure!
Hopefully Trey Lance can rescue Kyle Shanahan, but he’s not exactly off to an encouraging start.
Jimmy’s pathetic performance last night is being dubbed the 49ers “Nightmare Before Christmas”, by the national media.
No surprise there!
Hopefully we now win out and don’t have to see posts from this fool anymore.
And I said so. “2 awful ints from Jimmy, that miss to Juice”.
Jimmy doesn’t throw the RZ int, makes that connection to Juice, Niners likely up 24-0 and win. Same token, defense doesn’t let Titans off the hook on 3rd and long after 3rd and long, Niners likely win 17-7 or 17-10. Remember are talking about a team game, something the Jimmy obsessives and couch team psychs let whoooosh right over their heads.
49ers defensive effort in the first half should have been enough to win the game. This loss was on JG.
Trey Lance is not as good as Jimmy G is what the niners are telling you. I find it hilarious how all the niners fans want to make fun of Jimmy G and praise a kid who isnt playing but could play. Jimmy G might be your best future and he has a great pro record for a QB. Maybe he didnt play great last night but Trey Lance certainly does not look like a savior right now except in your dreams.
Ribicio, I didn’t overlook the 9ers D. I said as much in an earlier post. How many game losing drives is DeMeco Ryans going to give up before he decides he needs to change up his defensive calls at the end of games? I believe the 49ers have lost 4 games on the last possession this year.
And no I don’t believe in the old maxim about the records. The 49ers were clearly better than the Titans from a talent standpoint. 49ers dominated in every aspect of the game except 3rd downs and turnovers. 9ers had 6.7 Yards per play to 4.8 yards per play for the Titans. In the NFL thats a huge disparity. Because of Jimmy G the 49ers didn’t put the game away early. Because of DeMeco Ryans the 49ers couldn’t stop the Titans in the 2nd half or on their last drive. Fans can still be faithful fans while recognizing reality.
The nutshell right there. Lets not give a pass to yet another poor showing from ST either.
It still doesn’t mean the Niners are incapable of winning against anyone if/when they put in a complete game effort in all phases. Can they do it three (maybe four?) in a row in the post season? Magic 8 ball says Reply hazy, try again.
1.6. You are only correct if you ignore everything else but Jimmy. It’s a team sport and they could have won if others on the team had played well. Did you not see all the mistakes made by others? Did you not see the defense give, up 3rd down after 3rd down? If you are only going to base everything on QBs I don’t think you’ll be any happier with Lance. All quarterbacks throw picks. All quarterbacks miss their targets. All get sacked etc.
More and more I appreciate how great Alex Smith would be for this offense. This might sound funny, but really, Garoppolo is no Alex Smith.
The Titans made adjustments at half time. Ryans and Shanahan did not and key Niners players disappeared in the second half. This has been the case for Ryans all season, with safeties not helping the weak corner backs. Shanahan failed to adjust the running game and it was ineffective when needed in the second half. While Garopolo was inconsistent he was not the sole reason for this discouraging loss.
49ers second half offense this year has been bad in most games. Kind of adds fuel to the fire that the coaching staff isn’t making the proper halftime adjustments.
vs Titans: 7 Points Loss
vs Falcons: 14 Points Win
vs Bengals: 3 Points (went to OT) Win
vs Seahawks: 0 Points Loss
vs Vikings: 17 Points Win
vs Jags: 10 Points Win
Bitter disappointment .
1. Jimmy lost this game for us. His 2 picks were careless and predictable. There was virtually no pressure and he zeroed in on Kittle for pick 1. Pick 2 was the predictable defender drifts into zone and Jimmy delivers the ball to his chest. In other games JG has bounced back from picks but in this game he got worse.
2. Maybe we replace Jennings with Sherfield as our #3. Jenning’s drops are adding up and are a problem.
3. Gould was too close for comfort on 2 xtra points. Wishnowsky shanks a punt and his kickoffs are short. We need to overhaul both P and K next year. I fear they will give them both extensions.
4. Defense was dominant except on 3rd and long. What gives.
5. CB Norman is no good but I am hopeful for Thomas. He is always in pretty good position to make a play with his head turned and arms extended. Can he take the next step ?
6. Our D line is excellent against both the pass and run.
7. We need to find a dedicated return man .
I have a hard time on the first one because to me it seems like Kittle got out boxed out by Jenkins. You want and expect Kittle to make that play. Kittle got called out before the game and did not play well, he also had 2 false starts.
Pick #2 was horrible and typical bad Jimmy okay, but the first one I did not have a problem with. It’s the red zone so it’s magnified.
The 49ers management (Head coach, Kyle Shanahan, and GM John Lynch) need to accept some of the blame for giving up on Jimmy Garoppolo and moving forward with Trey Lance. They should know what the consequences are if Trey fails.
In 2017, GM Lynch and HC Shanahan traded for Jimmy G with six games left in the season. He started five games and won all five against playoff contending teams. He threw for 1560 yards averaging 312 yards per game, 7TD and 5 Int. They signed and paid him superstar money at the end of the 2017 season. Who is to blame for that signing and that contract? He was injured in 2018, and the 49ers were 4-12. That bad season enabled them to pick Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuel, and Dre Greenlaw in the 2019 draft. Jimmy G had a great 2019 season, but lost the Superbowl. He was criticized for overthrowing a wide open receiver, yet he wasn’t the the primary reason why they lost. Management started the blame game throughout the 2020 and 2021 seasons. It’s no wonder why Jimmy G is walking on egg shells.
Soon after this past week’s loss to the Tennessee Titans, GM John Lynch hit the “like” button to someone’s negative tweet about Jimmy Garoppolo and this bone headed “like” has created even more controversy. Whether it was done purposely or not, the press, some fans, and/or 49ers management have not been kind to Jimmy G. The drafting of Trey Lance in this year’s draft by 49ers management, the liking of a negative Jimmy G tweet, and the reaction of Kyle Shanahan after the botched fourth down pass play to Brandon Aiyuk probably spells the end of Jimmy G as a 49er. Shanahan’s reaction was talked about nationally from this game ending play as their video highlighed Shanahan’s displeasure (throwing his clipboard) as shown by the talk show, Skip and Shannon in Undisputed. The following are the career stats for Jimmy G, Steve Young, and Trey Lance. The reason why I compared Steve Young and Jimmy G is because they were both understudies for several years as a backup to the two QB GOATs in their respective era. They both have similar winning percentage as starters, they both won two Superbowls as backups. They both have similar completion percentage and passer ratings. These stats are found through Wikipedia and pro football reference.
Jimmy G
32-14 as starter (46 games)
and played in 62 games
Wins almost 70% of his games
67.6% career completion
70TD-36Int
70TD/46 games = 1.52 TD per game
70TD/62 games = 1.13 TD per game
36Int/46 games = 0.78 Int per game
36 Int/62 games = 0.52 Int per game
In a run first offense by Kyle Shanahan
11,536/46 games = 251 yds per game
11,536/62 games = 186 yds per game
99.4 passer rating (career)
2-1 in post season as starter
1 Superbowl appearance and lost
Won 2 Superbowls as backup to Brady
Steve Young became starter in 1991
Retired in 1999
99-44 (49ers record from 1991-1999)
Wins about 70% of his games
143 games started and 169 NFL games played, 22 games played and started for USFL (LA Express)
(USFL) 316 completions/560 attempts
56.4% completions; 72.8 passer rating
(NFL)2667 completions/4149attempts
In a pass first offense by George Seifert
33,124 yards/143games = 231.6 yds/g
33,124 yds/169games =196 yds/game
64.3% career completion percentage
232TD-107Int
232TD/143games = 1.62 TD per game
232TD/169games = 1.37 TD per game
107Int/143 games = 0.75 Int per game
107Int/169 games = 0.63 Int per game
96.8 career passer rating
8-6 playoff record
Won 1 SB as starter XXIX and MVP
Won 2 SB as backup to Montana
Trey Lance played and won all 19 games in three seasons from 2018-2020. He played (I believe one game in 2020 and 2 to 3 games in 2018) in 19 college games. His college passing stats are 208 completions in 318 attempts for 65.4% completion rate for 2947 yds, 30 TDs and 1 Int. His rushing stats are 192 rushes for 1325 yds, and 18 rushing TDs. Lance averages are as follows: passing was 155.1 yds. per game, and his rushing average is 69.7 yds per game.
In his pro career, Trey has been in five games and he has passed for 25 completions in 48 attempts (52.1%) for 354 yds, 3 passing TDs, 1 Int, 30 rushes for 137 yds, and 1 running TD. He started one game, and became injured in that game. Jimmy G drove the 49ers the length of the field to the 7 yd line, and was subbed out, and he threw a 7 yard TD pass. He also threw for another TD after Jimmy G led another drive.
Trey Lance and Steve Young are also similar because they are both running QBs. However, Trey has not been an understudy of any star QB, let alone QB GOATs. His stats resemble Steve Young’s stats early in his career with the USFL and with Tampa Bay Bucs because he ran the ball when he couldn’t find a receiver or felt pressured in the pocket. Even when he was with the 49ers, he ran for a 49 yard TD against the Vikings. In my opinion, under the tutelage of Bill Walsh and watching Montana’s magic, he transformed from a running QB to become a pocket passer. What do you think Trey Lance will do once he feels pressure? He’s going to RUN. That worked in college against a lower D1 conference, but in the NFL everyone (DL,LB, and DB) is faster. In Trey Lance’s first game as a starter against the Arizona Cardinals, he got hurt running the ball.
Kyle Shanahan is impatient and already bringing in Trey Lance when he probably isn’t ready. If it doesn’t work out and Trey Lance becomes a head case and there is no other QB because Jimmy G isn’t coming back. History tells you that overwhelming majority of rookie QBs fail in their first year. Look at the Jaguars, Jets, and Bears rookie QBs, how have they fared?
If Trey Lance fails, the 49ers will have to pay the other superstars and other good players prime time money. Especially for Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, Al-Shiar, Greenlaw, Armstrad, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Aiyuk, Hasty, Mostert, etc…If Lance fails, then they will have to rebuild because they’ll be back to square one like 2017 looking for a QB.
Shanahan and his staff failed to develop Jimmy G as a QB. They could have worked on his throwing technique as he sometimes overthrew his targets, worked on reading a defense (a run defense, pass defense, blitz, counting players on the attack side and calling audibles), or worked on his QB progressions on pass plays. Instead, they gambled by trading three first round picks and a third round pick for Trey Lance to become their QB savior. GM John Lynch and HC Kyle Shanahan mortgaged the 49ers future by banking on a QB with 19 college games in a lower D1 conference. They should have spent the draft picks on a much needed defensive backfield.
Finally, for the press, fans, and management who are inclined to pass blame on Jimmy G because he throws too many interceptions. Let’s look at Steve Young’s TD-Int ratio. It’s very similar.