Garoppolo, Lance each take snaps in first two drives, each score TDs
SANTA CLARA >> Jimmy Garoppolo, then Trey Lance. Then Garoppolo. Then Lance.
One scored, then the other did. The dizzying display of quarterback rotation was the No. 1 takeaway from the 49ers’ victorious preseason finale, a 34-10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
The in-and-out use of quarterbacks produced touchdown runs by them on the first two drives. More importantly, it showed the NFL what might be coming in two weeks once the regular season opens with the 49ers in Detroit.
“It catches you off guard,” running back Raheem Mostert said. “I’m used to Jimmy being in there the entire time, so when Trey comes in, it’s, ‘Oh, there’s
Trey. What are you doing in here, (No.) 5?’ It’s unique. And it’s fun.”
“They did a good job,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “By no means was it perfect, but just the function of going in and out and not knowing when it would be, It wasn’t a planned rotation. I tried to make it situationally and go out of impulse on down and distance. Those guys seemed to handle it good.”
Mind you, Sunday’s shift changes came against a Raiders franchise that did not return to the Bay Area in full force. They left 30 players back in Las Vegas, including all but one defensive starter as well as quarterback Derek Carr.
Unlike Raiders coach Jon Gruden, Shanahan used the game to showcase his quarterback options, to get veteran starters their first preseason work, and, to entertain a half-filled Levi’s Stadium in these teams’ first preseason meeting in a decade.
These are the main takeaways, starting with the obvious:
1. DUAL (NOT DUEL) QUARTERBACKS >> This wasn’t just a preseason gimmick. The 49ers truly do have enticing options by keeping both Garoppolo as the incumbent starter and Lance as the hot-shot rookie.
Two quarterbacks, two drives, two touchdowns. Touché.
Garoppolo was inspired enough to daringly dash headfirst at the goal line and into two defenders for his 1-yard touchdown run on the opening drive. “If I got hurt, it would have been a terrible idea,” Garoppolo said with a laugh. “I tried to submarine below two of them. It didn’t work out so well but I’m healthy.”
“That’s Jimmy. You’ve seen him lower his head and run a number of times since he’s been here,” Shanahan said. “He’s got that linebacker mentality. You never want him to risk himself and get hurt, but that’s why guys fight for him.”
Lance took the preceding four snaps — all handoffs, as was Lance’s other snap in that 10-play series. Drive No. 2 featured eight snaps by Garoppolo, including a fourth-and-one sneak. Lance came in for six snaps, scoring on a 2-yard run.
Overall, Garoppolo completed 4-of-7 passes for 64 yards, which seemed like a standard line. Lance was 6-of-13 for 46 yards with three drops, raising that total to 10 drops this preseason on passes by the occasionally too-strongarmed rookie.
Shanahan confirmed that Lance jammed a finger on his throwing hand but it’s not believed to be a serious issue.
Shanahan balked at announcing his Week 1 starter, but it will be a surprise if it’s not Garoppolo.
2. HURD RESURFACES >> Two years after infatuating the 49ers Faithful with a twotouchdown debut in an exhibition opener, Hurd made it back into game action, with mixed results. He caught four of Lance’s passes for 25 yards, but he also dropped two, and he needed teammates Jauan Jennings and Charlie Woerner to properly line up before one snap.
Hurd is a 2019 thirdround draft pick that Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have stated they want on the roster so long as he’s healthy. Now 13 months removed from an anterior cruciate ligament tear, Hurd took a big step playing in this game, but there’s no guarantee it’s enough to warrant a job. His trade value sure climbed, though.
“He got about 25 plays and some he’d like to have back, a couple of drops. I consider it a success,” Shanahan said. “It was his first time playing in a couple years. Had a long road back.”
Hurd also had a 2-yard run in his first touch since the 2019 exhibition opener. If Hurd is competing for a roster spot, perhaps it comes at the expense of Jauan Jennings, the seventh-round pick out of Tennessee. Jennings had a drop Sunday but promptly answered that with a 15-yard catch.
3. HELLO, AGAIN, MOSTERT >> Mostert looked electric, almost as much as the last time he played at Levi’s Stadium in front of fans — which was his 220-yard, four-touchdown game in the January 2020 NFC Championship Game.
Mostert ran for 53 yards on seven carries — all on the opening drive. His speed looked in regularseason form.
JaMychal Hasty looks roster-worthy with his preseason work, the highlights of which were his 35- and 3-yard touchdown runs in Sunday’s third quarter. Could that be enough to cost Wayne Gallman Jr. (13 carries, 66 yards) a job?
The 49ers ran for 242 yards Sunday, including 37 from rookie understudy Trey Sermon on seven carries. Elijah Mitchell (six carries, 24 yards) had some nice moments in his NFL debut, although a false start wasn’t one of them.
4. KINLAW LOOKS READY >> Hindered by knee and shoulder issues the past month, 2020 top draft pick Javon Kinlaw made the tackle on the game’s opening snap as he started alongside Arik Armstead, D.J. Jones and Samson Ebukam.
The 49ers kept defensive ends Nick Bosa and Dee Ford out all preseason as a precaution, but both have looked stellar in practice, so the 49ers’ defensive front looks potentially as menacing as their 2019 unit. Kinlaw must step up big for that to come true, however, and he played with force and enthusiasm Sunday.
5. SAFETY SHAKE-UP? >> Safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix’s third-quarter interception was an overthrown gift from Nathan Peterman. But Clinton-Dix has routinely been around the ball since his late-camp signing. Will he steal a roster spot from Tavon Wilson, a veteran who took most firstteam reps next to Mimmie Ward in practice all camp?