(Video) Jim Harbaugh’s Vote of Confidence Fuels Trey Lance’s Iconic Preseason Debut for Chargers

Trey Lance stole the show in his debut Los Angeles Chargers game by throwing two touchdowns.

(Video) Jim Harbaugh’s Vote of Confidence Fuels Trey Lance’s Iconic Preseason Debut for Chargers

Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh praises Trey Lance for his two TD debut (Image via IMAGO/X)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Football fans had slowly forgotten about Trey Lance. When Jim Harbaugh picked Lance to start for the Los Angeles Chargers against the Detroit Lions in the Hall of Fame game, everyone finally remembered that he was still in the NFL.

Regardless of the consensus, Lance balled out in Canton. It did not look for one second that he hadn’t seen the football field for over ten months.

Lance threw 13 completions from 20 attempts for 120 yards (119.58 quarterback rating) and threw two touchdowns, one each in the first two quarters.

His first TD pass was a floater to veteran tight end Will Dissly, and the second to 2025 fifth-round pick WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith from Auburn.

Lance additionally set up 2024 sixth-round pick RB Kimani Vidal for a score on the ground. Vidal added a second in the second half after rookie QB DJ Uiagalelei handed him the ball.

The Lions’ QBs, meanwhile, threw three turnovers that helped the Chargers to record a 34-7 victory.

Cameras caught Jim Harbaugh giving Trey Lance a pat on the back for his performance in his debut Chargers game.

Beat writer calls out the 49ers for failing to develop Trey Lance

The slight grin on Lance’s face hid a lot of pain from the past that he had endured to reach this far in his NFL career, which began with the San Francisco 49ers.

(Video) Jim Harbaugh's Vote of Confidence Fuels Trey Lance's Iconic Preseason Debut for Chargers
Trey Lance (Image via IMAGO)

Rightfully so, the first critic came from a 49ers beat writer. It wasn’t a negative retort because there weren’t any after the Lions game. Grant Cohn of SI watched the entire game in awe and kept asking himself, “Where was this Trey Lance” in San Francisco?

Cohn accused the 49ers coaching staff of not playing to Lance’s strengths, instead trying to mold him as the next Colin Kaepernick, whom they could have reactivated anytime. Lance succumbed to injury because he was playing out of his comfort zone.

Harbaugh didn’t force Lance to be someone else. He helped the 25-year-old hone his natural ball-playing skills.

Under center, play action, rolling left, rolling right, throwing on the run. That’s what he’s good at. It’s what he did in college (ND State). It’s he wants to do. And you can see how happy he looks for the first time in his professional career.

Grant Cohn said in a video posted on his X account

In Cohn’s observation, the Niners nearly ruined Lance’s career, but Harbaugh saw the potential in the young quarterback.

You gotta love Jim Harbaugh. What makes Jim Harbaugh a great coach? Is it his scheme? No!!! It’s the fact that he actually played quarterback in the NFL and he knows what real QBs need unlike people—Kyle Shanahan… Good for Trey Lance.

Cohn said

The 49ers drafted Lance third overall in 2021, who had only experienced 19 college games in three years. Jimmy Garoppolo’s injury gave the ND State graduate the chance to start his first NFL game. However, a knee injury left him in rehab, and Brock Purdy took over.

Purdy’s rise sidelined Lance’s growth. The Niners eventually traded him to the Cowboys in 2023 for a fourth-round pick. He made a grand total of four appearances in Dallas before the Cowboys released him during the offseason after they failed to find a trade partner.

Lance was rumored to sign with a CFL (Canadian Football League) team. The Chargers eventually gave Lance a one-year $2 million deal to back up Justin Herbert.

Also Read: