49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has twice been on the precipice of winning a Super Bowl. First, in 2016 as the Falcons offensive coordinator when Atlanta blew a 28-3 lead to the Patriots in Super Bowl LI. Then again in 2019 when the 49ers stumbled to a 31-20 loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV.
Both times the team Shanahan was part of had fourth-quarter leads erased and Shanahan catches a lion’s share of the blame for those losses, but former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III believes those late collapses happened in part because of the quarterback play. That’s where Trey Lance comes in.
“I think 49ers fans have to be ready for there to be ups and downs with Trey,” Griffin told the Sacramento Bee. “But the bottom line is Kyle Shanahan has had extreme success with guys like Matt Ryan and Jimmy Garoppolo, who are going to run the offense, and there’s going to be times when Trey, his talent and his ability takes over, and that’s what’s going to take over the hump to get them to the Super Bowl. Which is what they didn’t have with Matt Ryan when they were up 28-3 against the Patriots, and they didn’t have that with Jimmy Garoppolo, when he missed that last throw down to Emmanuel Sanders when he overthrew him.”
Each of those Super Bowls can be parsed and dissected to reveal mistakes and issues that go well beyond just the quarterback and the offense. However, there’s something to the idea that the potential havoc Lance can create with his legs and strong arm would help mask some of the issues that led to those losses.
Griffin told the Sacramento Bee that one of the big differences that will separate Lance from Jimmy Garoppolo is the former’s ability to beat defenses out of structure.
“With Trey Lance, it’s not going to be that way,” Griffin said about Shanahan’s QB just running the play. “That’s how it was with me at times. There’s going to be opportunities you have where your skills are going to take over. But that X factor is what’s going to help you win a Super Bowl and not just get to a Super Bowl.”
Injuries derailed Griffin’s career after a strong start where he led Washington to a 10-6 record and an NFC East championship during his rookie year. He never got a chance to be an X factor in a Super Bowl, but a super athletic quarterback bringing an added wrinkle to Shanahan’s offense was one of the goals with Lance.
The 49ers’ offense won’t look like it did for Griffin, but the out-of-structure elements will be there in ways they weren’t with Garoppolo. Lance has the ability to evade pressure in ways Garoppolo couldn’t, and a bigger arm to stretch defenses vertically.
While that all sounds good in theory, Lance still has to put it all together. A unique skill set is great, but it doesn’t guarantee success. He’ll still have to operate the offense and be able to play within structure more times than not. There are also questions he’ll have to answer in games with his touch and accuracy, especially on short and intermediate throws.
The ceiling is astronomical though if everything goes according to plan. Lance was brought in to mask some of the issues that ailed the 49ers the last couple years, and it’s hard to envision a 49ers Super Bowl run that doesn’t include a dominant version of their young signal caller.
