5 things Trey Lance revealed during 49ers win vs. Texans

No. 1: Metrics are recognizing 49ers have something in Trey Lance

In the analytics-driven world that is modern-era football, it’s impossible to look at Trey Lance’s standard stat line (a pretty good one, for what it’s worth: 16-of-23 for 249 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and a 116.0 passer rating) without taking another look at the metrics and analytics.

Perhaps the biggest shocker of them all is courtesy of Football Outsiders, as Bryan Knowles broke down where Lance’s efforts in DVOA matched up, both against 2021 rookie quarterbacks and the league as a whole:

Football Outsiders only ranks quarterback DVOA with a minimum 200 passing attempts, so Lance’s 71 attempts on the year are nowhere near enough.

Still, it’s worth recognizing the reality of San Francisco’s quarterbacking situation: Lance is showing why the 49ers aggressively drafted him, understanding how Jimmy Garoppolo can neither consistently throw deep down the field or outside the numbers.

And this Next Gen Stats reveal from Week 17 is telling, too:

Lance did both of those things on Sunday, and the net results were overwhelmingly positive.

The analytics don’t say everything, but they do reveal why the Niners are onto something here with Lance.

And if his progression continues upward, it’ll be a well-rewarded decision to make that switch under center.