Thursday night's outing against the Houston Texans was ugly. The San Francisco 49ers were shut out 17-0 in their preseason finale.
"It was pretty rough. I mean, we didn't play clean at all," head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game.
Trey Lance was under duress during his three series. The offensive line couldn't keep Texans defenders away from the second-year quarterback. It certainly wasn't a performance that generated fan confidence.
One CBS sports anchor doesn't believe what we've seen in the preseason from Lance and the 49ers are reasons for concern.
"I know people are looking at the numbers, the inability to score, but I like the fact that he took that shot down the field to Deebo Samuel early in the game, down the right sideline," Nate Burleson said as a guest on Good Morning Football. "He threw it a little short. I know he wants that one back. But for people who are worried about this offense, this is the preseason. Kyle Shanahan is not going to go out there and show you everything that he has. He is that guy who will keep it very basic, very granola, until the season comes.
"Then once Week 1 comes, he'll empty the bag like a kid coming home from Halloween. So don't be panicked by the fact that you didn't see this explosive offense. I saw enough to let me know when they made that comment that we are moving on with Trey Lance, that he is the guy for the job. So he will show up, and they will be in contention this year and compete in the NFC West."
.@nateburleson joins us to talk 49ers, Packers, living in New Jersey, Angry Runs and more... pic.twitter.com/UsHmJa6in7
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) August 26, 2022
Burleson isn't alone in his nonchalant attitude about the 49ers' preseason outing. Players within the 49ers locker room are ready to move on to Week 1.
"I've never once worried after a preseason game, at any point in my career," Pro Bowl tackle Trent Williams told Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle after the game. "Not even as a rookie. It's a scrimmage."
The 49ers have over two weeks to prepare for their trip to Soldier Field to play the Chicago Bears. The past three games didn't count. They didn't matter. This one will.
"The great news is we have 17 days to practice and grind on what we need to work on most," All-Pro tight end George Kittle told Silver. "I wouldn't really draw any conclusions from a preseason game."
Add fullback Kyle Juszczyk to the list of players who aren't the least bit concerned.
"At the end of the day, it's a preseason game," Juszczyk said. "We didn't put a lot of time into game-planning. Trey did a good job in the huddle, a good job of communicating. Obviously there are some things we can clean up."
The best quote of the night, though, came from Shanahan after Silver asked the coach if he could draw any conclusions about Lance from the quarterback's play against the Texans.
"Dude, I've got nothing," Shanahan responded. "It was a dumb-ass preseason game."
