Chiefs vs 49ers: What Stood Out Most

Chiefs are still the Chiefs as they get the win 19-16. Trey Lance has a few highlight-worthy moments. Josh Rosen fails to take advantage of opportunity.

Nice to See Some Starters

First and foremost, it was great to see so many big name players at the start of this game. Many of the other preseason matchups have featured backups playing at key positions from the first snap and beyond. They may not have played very long, but played nonetheless.

Trey Lance Debut

This game featured one of the more anticipated rookie debuts on the day, with Trey Lance making his debut with the San Francisco 49ers and he did not disappoint. Jimmy G got the start, but with 8 minutes remaining in the first quarter Lance entered the game. With just under 3 minutes remaining in the first, and on his second pass attempt, the following happened:

80 Yard TD Pass: Trey Lance to Trent Sherfield

TREY AREAAAA❗️#KCvsSF
📱49ers app
📺 @KPIXtv pic.twitter.com/nS8XnlGLQC

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) August 15, 2021

From His Own Endzone

Many teams hesitate to even allow a young quarterback to attempt a pass when backed up against their own endzone. The 49ers seem to have that level of trust in Trey Lance already, and he was quick to show everyone why they should feel that way:

From his own end zone… @treylance09 #KCvsSF #NFLPreseason pic.twitter.com/qK9O4xT3Zj

— NFL (@NFL) August 15, 2021

Under Pressure Often

The highlights listed above are very nice indeed, but not everything was ideal for the team. Trey Lance was sacked a total of 4 times in the first half, and had defenders nearby or in his face other times as well.

Josh Rosen Sighting

Once Trey Lance’s day was done, Josh Rosen entered the game at quarterback for the 49ers. And as much as I would like to report the contrary, he still stinks. He never appeared to be very comfortable while on the field. Despite his known arm talent, it’s decision making like this that gets you benched and/or cut:

Rosen Throws Directly To Defender

“Josh Rosen is good, he was just in a bad situation”

pic.twitter.com/yua7XvzVt3

— dk 💫 (@HoodieSiakam) August 15, 2021

At one point one of the announcers wonder why he’s even playing, mentioning some surprise that Nate Sudfeld was not getting any reps. The announcer even speculated that Rosen likely won’t see the field in the 49ers next preseason game, which seemed strange to me because he is on the roster and the preseason seems like exactly when I should expect to see Rosen on the field. I suppose they could cut him, because it does seem unlikely that the team will start the season with 4 QBs on the roster, though that may be exactly what they do if they intend to attempt trading Jimmy G early in the season.

Final Thoughts

The Chiefs are still the Chiefs, and if healthy should be one of the favorites to win it all. The 49ers could be a contender in the NFC assuming Trey Lance is able to live up to the hype and produce on the field as expected. He got off to a hot start with the deep touchdown Sherfield, but came back to earth a bit beyond that. Interested in seeing how he develops throughout the season.

IMG CREDIT: Tom – stock.adobe.com