In his weekly "Offensive Players of the Week" segment, NBC Sports's Peter King included 49ers rookie Trey Lance, who made his second career start against the Houston Texans Sunday.
Lance was among some pretty good company, as King put him amongst Tom Brady and JaMarr Chase, who both had monster games Sunday to warrant their presence on the list.
Lance threw 23 passes, completing 16 of them en route to 248 yards passing, two touchdowns and an interception. He also added 31 yards on the ground with his eight carries to round out his performance.
King attributed his ranking to Lance's second half, where he took over offensively, airing it out and scoring 20 points, as opposed to Houston's 7, for a final score of 23-7.
"In winning his first NFL game, 23-7 over Houston, Lance was shaky early but led the Niners to scoring the last 23 points of the game in the final 31 minutes."
In addition, George Kittle had nothing but kind words for his rookie quarterback, pointing out the growth over the course of the game, which led to San Francisco winning this must-win game.
"I think he got better throughout the game," tight end George Kittle said of the third pick in the draft."
King noted that Lance may be important next week, depending on Jimmy Garoppolo's health, as the 49ers are currently fighting for a playoff spot.
"The Niners may need him next week at the Rams. A win next weekend or a Saints loss means the Niners would make the playoffs. There's so much riding on Lance's play as the sun sets on this season, and San Francisco would like to have a good feeling entering Lance's sophomore year."
If Lance is the one to go next week, it would be an amazing storyline for the rookie, as the 49ers are going into Los Angeles, a team fighting to clinch the division, needing a win to pave their own path into the playoffs.