Trey Lance on 49ers ‘ugly’ preseason finale: ‘Not going to make a bigger deal out of it than we need to’

The San Francisco 49ers closed out their preseason with an ugly 17-0 loss against the Houston Texans, but starting quarterback Trey Lance won’t be putting much stock into Thursday night’s defeat. 

Lance, who will take over the reins from Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 1 while the 49ers patiently decide his fate, was 7-for-11 for 49 yards on three scoreless drives, while backups Nate Sudfeld and Brock Purdy both threw an interception.

The 2021 first-round draft pick admitted it was an “ugly” display, but said he wasn’t going “to make a bigger deal out of it” than necessary. 

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“Some ugly stuff out there, for sure. It definitely wasn’t our best night,” Lance said after the game, via the NFL Network. “It never feels real good to lose, but I will learn from it and turn the page. I’m not going to make a bigger deal out of it than we need to.”

“It was definitely not our best night, but like I said, we’re not going to make too big a deal out of it,” he reiterated.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan called it a “pretty rough” night and said both sides of the ball “struggled to execute.” 

“Offensively, just way too many penalties. But it was also defense and special teams,” he said. “I just thought we struggled to execute. It was sloppy play, and I wish it would have been clean.”

The 49ers, who have turned the offense over to Lance, still hope to trade Garoppolo before the start of the season, but there haven’t been any teams willing to take on his $24.2 million nonguaranteed salary for 2022.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.