Skip Bayless is infamous for scorching hot takes that usually center around LeBron James. But on Monday morning, the FOX Sports analyst had a reasonable opinion.
When asked if the 49ers' stunning 19-10 loss to the Chicago Bears should warrant Jimmy Garoppolo starting over Trey Lance, Bayless simply responded, "I do not."
In fact, Bayless is confident that Lance outplayed the other young quarterback on the field -- Bears signal-caller Justin Fields.
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“I’m going to defend this kid because I thought he played much better than most people thought he played yesterday," the "Undisputed" host said.
Bayless cited that the 49ers picked up more first downs than Chicago and converted 47 percent of their third-down conversions, going 8-for-17. Lance had a hand in all eight of those third-down conversions, moving the chains five times with his legs and three times via passes to receiver Jauan Jennings (twice) and tight end Ross Dwelley.
"That’s eight times," Bayless said. "I just showed you eight third-down conversions. They were in command and in control of this game, up 10-0, before the deluge came. When the deluge came, everything went to hell for San Francisco because they started committing penalties. They had 12 penalties for almost 100 yards. That will not work."
Lance was far from perfect, completing 13 of 28 pass attempts for 164 yards and an interception. But Bayless cut Lance some slack for that mistake.
"It was pouring rain," Bayless said. "If you look at it, the ball is slipping out of his hands. As he’s throwing, the ball just slips and goes sideways. It was impossible conditions in the fourth quarter because it was a flat-out downpour."
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Nine of Lance's incompletions occurred in the fourth quarter when the rain took over. All Fields had to do at that point, with the Bears up nine points, was milk the clock and avoid turnovers.
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"Justin Fields played better in the fourth quarter than Trey Lance did," Bayless admitted. "I thought [Lance] played a little better overall because Trey Lance had 13 carries for 54 yards himself to lead the team in rushing."
A Week 1 clash in a downpour isn't enough to settle the debate on which 2021 NFL Draft class quarterback will have the better career. But on Sunday, it just might have been Lance who looked more impressive, despite what the win column reads Monday morning.