Trey Lance tosses touchdown bomb in preseason debut vs. Packers

Trey Lance looked OK enough on his first drive in preseason action against the Packers, but his long bomb of a toss to Danny Gray showed the QB’s promise.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance‘s night in Week 1 of the 2022 preseason ended after just two offensive drives against the visiting Green Bay Packers, culminating in a successful 50-yard field goal by kicker Robbie Gould.

That drive was OK, yes, as the first-year starting quarterback overthrew rookie wide receiver Danny Gray outside the numbers, which resulted in the Niners settling for the Gould field goal. And tossing high and wide outside the numbers had been one of the issues Lance had during training camp, too.

Lance wouldn’t miss Gray again, though.

In fairness, Lance was missing almost all of his top offensive contributors and had a makeshift offensive line in front of him. Plus, it’s a preseason game, so perhaps the playbook Lance had at his disposal is awfully vanilla.

However, with San Francisco trailing 7-3 and entering its second offensive drive, Lance delivered a big-time throw.

Trey Lance tosses long touchdown to 49ers WR Danny Gray

Preseason games have all kinds of narratives anyway, and there’s only so much that can be derived from a player’s efforts.

However, on 3rd-and-9 from the 49ers’ own 24-yard line, Lance was able to hit Gray for a long 76-yard touchdown, showing plenty of arm strength and playmaking ability in the process:

After playing just two series, Lance’s night came to an end with the following line:

• 4-of-5 passing for 92 yards
• One rush attempt for 7 yards
• 158.3 passer rating
• One sack

Read More: 49ers vs. Packers: How to watch Week 1 of preseason

Over his last two starts in his rookie year, Lance tended to get off to a slower start but picked up steam as the game moved along, meaning exiting early on Friday night wasn’t going to afford him much of a chance to get into a rhythm.

While it’s likely in a bit of a preseason microcosm, the No. 3 overall pick from the 2021 NFL Draft looked far more comfortable and poised during the Niners’ second offensive series.

With Lance coming out, San Francisco will turn to its two backup quarterbacks, Nate Sudfeld and rookie Brock Purdy, to close out the exhibition bout.