Trey Lance saw the field for 178 offensive snaps during his rookie season last year, so his start in the 49ers' 19-10 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Solider Field wasn't his first taste of NFL game action.
But Lance still has a lot to prove to the 49ers and his opponents.
The Bears' defense set out on a task to make Lance show that he could beat them, and for the most part, they accomplished their mission.
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“What you think he did? He ain’t do s--t," Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson told reporters after the game (H/T NBC Sports Chicago's Josh Schrock). "We made him play quarterback. We know he hurt us in the run game with his feet and everybody knows at some point he’s going to run and make a play. But I feel like we had to really make him play quarterback. Like I said, he’s still a young guy and I think he’ll end up being a good player for them. But it’s early. He has to go through it. I feel like we did exactly what I said we would: make him prove himself as a quarterback.”
Those comments back up what Johnson told the Chicago media about the Bears' plan for Lance in the days leading up to the game.
"He's a young guy. Definitely has a strong arm," Johnson said earlier in the week. "He can hurt us in the run game, but he still got to prove himself to me."
In his third career NFL start -- and first since being elevated to QB1 on the 49ers' depth chart -- Lance showed flashes of why coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch turned the team over to him. He made several crisp passes, hitting wide receivers in stride or squeezing the ball into tight windows.
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Lance also led the 49ers in rushing with 54 yards on 13 carries.
But Lance also was sacked twice, made a poor read on an interception, and looked like a rookie quarterback at times. He ended up completing just 13 of his 28 passes for 164 yards, finishing with a QBR of 42.2 and a QB rating of 50.3.
After the game, Lance took the blame for the loss and said he expects better from himself. His first chance to prove himself as the next great 49ers quarterback didn't go the way he hoped.
But that's part of the process of his development: defenses are going to challenge him and it's up to him to improve.
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Lance's next chance to show he's up to the task is next Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium.
If he has another poor performance, the questions will get louder. But if he can build on what he did well against Johnson and the Bears, the second-year quarterback will begin to silence the doubters.