How does Trey Lance’s absence affect Denver Broncos vs 49ers?
Yeah The Denver Broncos will host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football but will not face former third-overall pick Trey Lance at quarterback.
The Denver Broncos are coming off a victory from Sunday that many aren’t overly impressed with. They will get another shot on Sunday Night Football against the 49ers. The 49ers, meanwhile, will have Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback—not Trey Lance.
In a way, that is a good thing. In another way, it is not.
Would Denver Broncos be better off facing Trey Lance?
Lance would have brought his running ability against the Broncos, and that’s just not something I was looking forward to against the 49ers. That would have just added to the potential issues the Broncos could have faced with Lance.
The thing is, the 49ers also have Deebo Samuel as a dual-threat player. With Garoppolo in the lineup, we probably do not have to worry about the quarterback taking the football during read-option plays. While the Broncos will still have to keep all eyes on Samuel, the threat of the quarterback tucking the football away is much less with Garoppolo than it is with Lance.
Honestly, it kind of feels like, at this point, it is easy to catch the Broncos off guard, so eliminating the run-pass option (RPO), is a huge advantage for the team.
Here’s what’s interesting, though. According to Pro Football Reference, while playing 15 games, Garoppolo led the league in yards gained per pass completion with 12.7. So, ultimately, looking at 49ers fans’ comments about Garoppolo having a “noodle arm” doesn’t even matter at this point. That’s still a significant stat right there.
The hope is that the Broncos’ pass rush can get to Garoppolo with ease on Sunday Night Football. Aside from the tackles of the 49ers, I’m not too concerned about their offensive line. Hopefully the Broncos can generate enough pressure into mistakes.