49ers-Cardinals: Trey Lance ‘disappointed’ by wasted opportunities, Kyle Shanahan seeks improvement

The San Francisco 49ers have now lost three consecutive games after starting 2-0. They remain in last place in the NFC West as the Arizona Cardinals improve to 5-0.

The game was Trey Lance's first start. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out as he hoped. The rookie quarterback was playing for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo (calf) and finished 15-of-29 for 192 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception.

After the 17-10 defeat, Lance was asked how he felt about his first start.

"The defense kept us in it, for sure," Lance told reporters. "I mean, the [Cardinals] offense is very explosive. They make a lot of big plays, and our defense definitely gave us a shot. So, we've got to capitalize, got to do better, make more plays.

"Obviously, disappointed. I really wanted to win that game. But we'll keep our heads up, learn from it, learn as much as I can, get as better as I can from it. Excited for next week."

Head coach Kyle Shanahan is taking a lot of heat on social media for the 49ers' latest defeat. San Francisco has been in each of the last three games. They've come just short in each. Two were lost by a touchdown while the third was lost by two points.

"We've got to play better football to win those games," Shanahan said. "I mean, we've lost three in a row. I think they were three games that we could have won."

Penalties and failures to convert on critical late-down situations seemed to be the story this afternoon.

"With those penalties in some crucial situations, not being able to convert on some third and fourth downs, and having the turnovers, not getting enough turnovers, those things make it harder to win. We've got to find a way to do better. I've got to find a way to get us to do better.

"Going into this bye week, we're 2-3. There's still a lot of football to play, but we've got to come back, and we've got to play better than we have."

Once again, it is time for San Francisco to put yet another loss behind them. They are headed into a much-needed break before preparations begin for the Indianapolis Colts. In the meantime, Lance will review the film from his first start and hopes to learn from the tough defeat.

"I'm super proud of these guys," Lance added. "Defensively, offensively, we competed. How hard these guys played, they battled through a lot, some tough penalties, things like that, but we're going to learn a lot from it, and we're going to be better for it."