Trey Lance sustained an injury to his right ankle in the first quarter of the 49ers’ home opener, and the upstart quarterback required a cart to take him into the locker room for further evaluation.
The 49ers’ medical staff appeared to place an air cast on Lance’s leg following a collision with linebacker Cody Barton.
Lance, making only his fourth career start, was injured when his right leg got trapped under him while he was tackled on a 2-yard zone-read keeper to the Seattle Seahawks’ 19-yard line.
Lance was initially helped up by center Jake Brendel before going back down to the turf, writhing in pain and staying on the ground for several minutes. Players on both teams took a knee on the field while the medical staff tended to Lance.
Jimmy Garoppolo immediately took over his old job, the one he held (when healthy) from December 2017 up until last season’s NFC Championship Game. Garoppolo was hit hard on his initial snap, which was a 4-yard completion on third-and-6 to Brandon Aiyuk.
All this unfolded on the 49ers’ second series of the game, which ended with Robbie Gould kicking a field goal, just as he did on the opening possession.
The 49ers’ opening drive was sparked by runs by from a trio of ballcarriers (Lance, Jeff Wilson Jr., Ty Davis-Price) as well as a 25-yard catch-and-run from Brandon Aiyuk that breached Seattle territory.
Ty Davis-Price showed nice burst on the opening carries of his career, starting with a 4-yard effort before his 20-yard encore reached the 7-yard line. Wilson got the start, and he rotated back in as the third-down back near the goal line to make a 5-yard catch before Gould’s kick.
On that opening drive, Lance had a pair of runs.
Lance did not slide on any of his three power-type runs this game, nor on any of his 13 carries in Sunday’s opener at Chicago.
Asked Wednesday about that reluctance to slide, Lance said he thought he protected himself against the Bears, then added: “Maybe a couple I could have got down one step faster or slashing, finding an edge and getting down.
“But for the most part, when I’m running between the tackles or running on third down, I’m not ever going to slide and go fourth-and-two and just give up on the play and send our defense on the field if it’s a situation like that.”
Lance’s last carry Sunday – and perhaps this season – came with him running up the right side (between tackles) on a second-and-8 run to the Seahawks’ 19-yard line.
On the next possession, Garoppolo threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Ross Dwelley, extending the 49ers’ lead to 13-0 with 11:19 left in the first half.
Deebo Samuel was among those to initially congratulate Garoppolo, who rushed down to congratulate Dwelley, who juked a defender and then dove to stretch the ball across the goal line for only the 49ers’ second touchdown this season.
