Through the first eight games of their season, the 49ers were just 3-5. They had already suffered a three-game losing streak and were coming off a loss to the Colt McCoy-led Arizona Cardinals.
Despite throwing for a season-high 326 yards in that 31-17 loss to the Cardinals, a crowd grew cheering for rookie Trey Lance to start at quarterback over Jimmy Garoppolo. Coach Kyle Shanahan says he wasn't part of that crowd.
"There was never a point where I thought about switching to Trey in terms of, I think it was something I said at the time -- I thought it was the truth. I didn't think Jimmy was the issue," Shanahan said. "There were games where he could have played better in, but I didn't think he was playing the way that everyone was saying. Just watching the tape with our team, I didn't think our team was there yet. And I didn't think it was the best thing for Trey."
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SIGN UP HERE Garoppolo was injured and missed one of the 49ers' first five losses. In his first seven games of the season, he had thrown for 1,754 yards while completing 65.3 percent of his passes. At that time, he had eight touchdown passes and five interceptions, and had also scored three rushing TDs but lost three fumbles.
Lance appeared in the season opener and threw a five-yard touchdown on his first pass attempt in the NFL. He also started for an injured Garoppolo in Week 5 against the Cardinals and lost 17-10. He threw for 192 yards but no touchdowns and was intercepted once against Arizona. He also ran for 89 yards in the loss.
In the 49ers' first eight games, Lance appeared in just four games, starting one. He completed only 52.1 percent of his pass attempts for 354 yards, three TDs and one interception. Plus, he had totaled 133 rushing yards and one more touchdown.
"When we did have a 3-5 record, I knew we were ... not one game away, but it was getting close to where the best thing for the team was focusing on some other things and giving guys some chances to play," Shanahan said. "But I never felt that at 3-5."
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Lance did start at a crucial Week 17 game full of playoff implications with Garoppolo injured. The No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft carried the 49ers to a 23-7 win as he completed 69.6 percent of his pass attempts for 249 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
It was the first time he had attempted a pass since his Week 5 start.
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Following the loss to McCoy and the Cardinals, Garoppolo started eight games. The veteran completed 71.1 percent of his pass attempts the rest of the season for 2,056 yards. He threw 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions in that span and did not lose another fumble.
The 49ers went 6-2 in those eight games, and they're now one win away from Super Bowl LVI with Garoppolo leading this squad.