It has not been an easy or comfortable offseason for Trey Lance so far. However, his performance in Saturday’s preseason game seemed to go a long way toward changing the narrative around the young San Francisco 49ers quarterback.
Apparently not, if SportsCenter anchor Zubin Mehenti is to be believed.
Lance came into 49ers camp competing for the starting job against last season’s hero Brock Purdy and new arrival Sam Darnold. Given the hype surrounding the former third-overall pick, Lance has been hearing about it from critics, especially as it’s become clear that Purdy is likely to get the starting nod to begin the season.
When he first entered Saturday night’s contest, Lance didn’t exactly set the world on fire. But after one of his usual slow starts, the 23-year-old started putting things together. The Broncos led with eight points late in the fourth quarter when Lance led the Niners down the field, going 6-of-7 on the drive and hitting rookie tight end Cameron Latu for a 22-yard touchdown.
Lance to Latu for the score!
📺 #DENvsSF on KPIX
📱 NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh pic.twitter.com/lzCUBpNS8A— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) August 20, 2023
Down 20-18, the Niners got the ball back and counted on Lance to lead them down the field as the clock ticked down. The QB came up huge, connecting with rookie receiver Ronnie Bell on a 43-yard catch-and-run that set up Jake Moody’s game-winning 32-yard field goal as time expired.
Walk-off winner! @jmoods13
📺 #DENvsSF on KPIX
📱 NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh pic.twitter.com/mJwI1qEo6o— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) August 20, 2023
Lance finished the game going 12-of-18 for 173 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Plus, he put together some pretty clutch plays to help San Francisco win the game. It’s just one performance, but it was a very positive step for the young QB trying to prove he deserves another shot at the starting job at some point.
During the overnight SportsCenter, Mehenti was running down highlights from the game and focused on the irony that Purdy, who was Mr. Irrelevant in the 2022 NFL Draft, is seemingly outplaying Lance and Darnold, both of whom were No. 3 overall picks. He perhaps gets a little too caught up in the overall narrative to realize that it didn’t really apply to the outcome of Saturday night’s game.
"Trey Lance just had another dismal outing."
Lance went 12-18 for 173 yards, a TD, and INT, and helped set up the game-winning FG. pic.twitter.com/CBvgNR4Lou
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 20, 2023
“It’s amazing to me… that Mr. Irrelevant is holding off two guys who were drafted No. 3 overall. That’s football for you,” said Mehenti while a clip of Lance’s interception played. “Mr. Irrelevant, drafted last, is holding off two guys drafted No. 3 overall. Boy, Trey Lance just had another dismal outing. 49ers win late. Lance, the numbers were good, performance, not so much, according to those that watch every game.”
You can hear the moment when Mehenti realizes what he’s saying doesn’t quite match the reality of the game, and he tries his best to adjust accordingly. It’s also fair to note that the visual packaging of the game was clearly done to accentuate Lance’s worst moment, so presumably, the SportsCenter producers had put Mehenti in this position to discuss the game in a way that wasn’t quite accurate to what happened.
Regardless, it did not go over well with a large segment of San Francisco fans who have been watching a specific narrative about their quarterbacks play out nationally.
I swear the national media (and local writers) pre-write their analysis on Lance and just run with one narrative regardless of what actually happened https://t.co/eGbGf530H1
— Taylor Wirth (@WirthTM) August 20, 2023
Pretty sure the 49ers locker room had no problem with Lance engineering a fourth-quarter comeback win
“We all want to see him succeed and do great. … He put together two great drives at the end, so it was awesome to see, really excited for him.” — Brock Purdy on Lance https://t.co/V1sWxA01ob
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) August 20, 2023
Trey Lance just looked awesome while completing a comeback victory and this is the highlight package/commentary they are showing on Sportscenter?!
Yeah it’s a meaningless preseason game but cmon, the coverage of Trey Lance by the media right now is nothing short of baffling 😂 pic.twitter.com/8jfD0Fom0S
— Ryan Smith (@RyanSmithDB) August 20, 2023
This is a joke and flat out lazy by ESPN.
“Trey Lance with another dismal outing. The numbers looked good but he really struggled according to those who watch every snap.”
Clearly ESPN didn’t watch any snaps.
Be better. #49ers
pic.twitter.com/7rj1QisCM9— Chase Senior (@Chase_Senior) August 20, 2023
The situation surrounding the 49ers’ quarterback situation makes for a great story. The guy who barely got drafted outplays the first-round pick and presumed savior, while also outplaying a veteran brought in to compete as well. It’s easy to see a narrative playing out and try to milk that angle for all it’s worth. But when credit is due, it has be to given. And it feels like SportsCenter got a little caught up in the narrative around Lance this time.
