Trey Lance: 3 best plays from 49ers QB in Week 17 vs. Texans

Deep Bomb from Trey Lance to Deebo Samuel for a Touchdown

Head coach Kyle Shanahan let the rookie rip it deep on a spectacular play by both Trey Lance and Pro Bowl wide receiver Deebo Samuel.

Samuel ran a deep in-route from the 45-yard line within Texans territory, and Lance laid a beautiful deep pass to hit Samuel in stride.

This allowed Samuel to get past his defender and run it in for the 45-yard touchdown.

This is a quintessential Shanahan play in which players are schemed open for big gains. It included a fake handoff bootleg that made the defense freeze, while Lance threw it across the field for an absolute rope to Samuel:

One thing to note is this is exactly the kind of dynamic that has been missing from the 49ers quarterbacking position: someone who can create positive plays with their legs but also has the arm talent to complete passes to the middle-to-deep areas of the field.

Lance showed that he can be exactly what the Niners need to take their offense to the next level.

If veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is not able to return next week for San Francisco’s matchup against its NFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, then it is good the backup quarterback has so many tools to work with.

The question now will be if Shanahan is ready to trust his rookie more. By the way this game ended, expect Shanahan to let the rookie eat.