Shanahan addresses possibility of starting Lance vs. Rams originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The 49ers were flat-out embarrassed Sunday by an Arizona Cardinals team that was without Kyler Murray, DeAndre Hopkins, J.J. Watt, A.J. Green and Chase Edmonds, losing 31-17 at Levi's Stadium in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicates.
At 3-5, the 49ers have a myriad of issues. The defense made backup Colt McCoy look like Murray on Sunday, the offense had two early turnovers and coach Kyle Shanahan appeared to wave the white flag early in the second half with a number of curious decisions.
But, as has been the case all season with these 49ers, the starting quarterback question takes up most of the oxygen. So, after getting dismantled by Arizona's B-team, will the 49ers make the switch to rookie quarterback Trey Lance for their Week 19 tilt against the Los Angeles Rams?
“Probably not, but I’m definitely not thinking of those things right now," Shanahan said after the game Sunday. "I’m thinking about this game and the rest of our team.”
Garoppolo was far from the 49ers' biggest issue Sunday. The veteran signal-caller went 28-for-40 for 326 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, but a bulk of those yards came with the game already out of reach.
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“I thought Jimmy was alright," Shanahan said. "I thought that pick at the end, those last couple of plays were some bad plays right there on that last drive when the game was out of hand. But Jimmy was alright.”
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The 49ers appeared to stabilize their season with a Week 8 win over the Chicago Bears and had a golden opportunity to get back to .500 and pick up a game on the first-place Cardinals with Murray out Sunday.
Instead, the 49ers rolled over rather quickly Sunday as the Cardinals found their weak spot and exploited them until the 49ers yelled "uncle!" after Eno Benjamin ran over and through Dre Kirkpatrick to make it 31-7 in the third quarter.
Lance is the future. Maybe he can help fix the slow starts that have plagued the 49ers' offense this season. But he can't tackle or cover, and right now, the 49ers' biggest issues are on the side of the ball that used to be their calling card.
