49ers Quarterbacks Massively Underwhelm in Preseason Loss to the Raiders

Well that wasn't a pretty one.

The San Francisco 49ers lose 34-7 in the first preseason game in awful fashion to the Las Vegas Raiders. Preseason games usually aren't the most entertaining, but my goodness, the 49ers were dull all game.

All eyes were on the 49ers quarterbacks in this one and it started with Trey Lance. He received all of the reps in the first half before handing it off to Sam Darnold in the third quarter. When it was all said and done for Lance, he finished with completing 10-of-15 passes for 112 yards and one touchdown with 111 passer rating. A pretty solid stat line that would indicate a good outing for Lance, but that wasn't the case at all.

It wasn't a good start to the game for Lance. The 49ers offense went three and out on the opening series. Lance was sacked twice on that drive, which looked to be his fault for holding the ball too long. But that opening drive foreshadowed what was to come for Lance with the offensive line. That offensive line couldn't stop a nosebleed. They made the Raiders defensive line look like a bunch of All-Pro players, especially Adam Butler.

That was ultimately the story of the game for Lance. He was sacked four times in his one half of playing time, while constantly dealing with pressure in his face for most of his snaps. On the few plays he didn't have pressure in his face, he actually delivered some solid throws. One was a sweet in-route to receiver Chris Conley for 17 yards, which was his best throw.

Lance clearly was impacted by the pressure he was facing and took time to settle down. He had no better than an average day in this game, which would have easily been worse for him. There were two throws that were nearly picked off due to poor decision making, including the one he threw for a touchdown. That was by far the ugliest throw of the game and one where he caught a lucky break.

Niners score a wild TD 😮

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It seemed like Lance was overall pressed and rushing things. I'll skew the blame a little more towards the offensive line because they were atrocious for every quarterback today. When Darnold took over for the third quarter, he didn't do anything that was mesmerizing either. He was underwhelming and no better than average either. One throw, however, he made was by far the best throw of any 49ers quarterback when he targeted rookie receiver Ronnie Bell for a 38-yard connection. That was an incredible one. Everything else was average outside of this throw. He didn't build upon that one. He also had one inexcusable throw that should've been intercepted.

Darnold with the 38-yard 🎯

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As for Brandon Allen, well he is exactly where he's at on the roster, which is nothing more than a fourth string quarterback. His time on the 49ers needs to come to an end as soon as possible so those few reps he gets in practice go to Lance and Darnold. The story of the day is underwhelming for the 49ers and it goes deeper than just the quarterbacks. The depth on this team looks suspect after that game, which is rare to see since the 49ers have always been rich in depth. This year looks to be different.

None of the quarterbacks set themselves apart against the Raiders. The standings still feel equal to me. In the next preseason game, the quarterbacks will need to show more, but it'll be tough again if the offensive line doesn't get it together.