Trey Lance Gets First Extended Playing Time with 49ers Starters

COSTA MESA -- The 49ers quarterback competition took a fascinating turn on Day 17. 

Trey Lance got his first extended playing time with the starters and played well, while Jimmy Garoppolo threw a pick 6, which was his fifth interception of the past four practices. 

Garoppolo is giving away his job, and Lance is starting to take it.

Here's what each quarterback did on Day 17.

TREY LANCE

Played his first full drive with the starters, completed all three of his pass attempts, ran twice and got sacked once during that series. Which means he played much better with the starters than Jimmy Garoppolo (more on him below). Through 17 training camp practices, Lance has thrown just three interceptions, and his interception percentage is a miniscule 1.4. Which means despite his innaccuracy and inexperience, he avoids big mistakes, unlike Garoppolo, the veteran.

Here's the play by play of Lance's practice.

1. While playing with the second stringers, Lance fired a pass through the hands of Deebo Samuel, who ran a quick slant route. Lance didn't need to throw this pass so hard.

2. While playing with the second stringers, Lance underthrew a deep pass to Mohamed Sanu, who ran a fade route up the left sideline.

3. While playing with the second stringers, Lance sailed a pass over the head of Samuel, who ran a dig route from right to left.

4. While playing with the starters, Lance completed a shovel pass to Deebo Samuel, who ran a jet sweep.

5. While playing with the staters, Lance ran a zone read to the right and gained 2 yards.

6. While playing with the starters, Lance got sacked. No one was open. Lance should have scrambled.

7. While playing with the starters, on 3rd and 15, Lance ran a quarterback draw and gained 20 yards.

8. While playing with the starters, Lance completed a 15-yard play-action pass to his second read, Deebo Samuel, who ran a curl route. Beautiful pass from the pocket. Lance didn't linger too long on his first read, and he took what the defense gave him. Mature play.

9. While playing with the starters, Lance completed a 5-yard pass to Sanu, who ran a quick out route to the left.

10. While playing with the backups, on 3rd and 8 in the red zone, Lance threw an incomplete pass to Trent Sherfield, who ran a slant route, and was covered well. Lance forced that one.

11. While playing with the backups, on 1st and goal from the 6, Lance threw a touchdown pass to JaMycal Hasty, who ran a quick out route to the left from the backfield. Practice ended after this play.

JIMMY GAROPPOLO

If Garoppolo had made it through the entire practice without throwing a pick, I was going to heap praise onto him. I even said while standing on the sideline, "If he doesn't throw a pick today, I'm going to praise him so hard." Ten seconds later, he threw a pick 6. The 49ers have no choice but to give Lance reps with the starters, because Garoppolo has played so poorly in camp. His interception percentage now is a whopping 3.8. Good thing the 49ers have Lance.

Here's the play by play of Garoppolo's practice.

1. Completed a 6-yard pass over the middle to George Kittle, who ran a stick route.

2. Threw a deep pass to Deebo Samuel which Samuel caught out of bounds. Incomplete.

3. Didn't pull the trigger on a deep play-action pass to Trent Sherfield. Instead, hesitated and threw late over the middle to Travis Benjamin, who ran a dig route from left to right, and the pass was incomplete. Had this been a real game, the pass would have led Benjamin directly into a crushing hit from a safety.

4. Threw an incomplete pass high and behind Jauan Jennings, who ran a dig route from left to right.

5. In the red zone, ran a bootleg to the right and completed a 10-yard pass to Brandon Aiyuk, who ran a curl route.

6. In the red zone, completed a 10-yard pass to Kittle.

7. On 2nd and goal from the 3, stared down Kittle, who ran a stick route, then threw him a floater than sunk and died, and got intercepted by Derwin James, who returned the interception for a touchdown. Yikes.