Trey Lance started NFL career with an 80 yard touchdown

San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Trey Lance started his NFL career in preseason on Saturday with an 80-yard touchdown pass against the Kansas City Chiefs. In just his second career NFL pass, he hit wide receiver Trent Sherfield on an 80-yard pass over the defense.

Trey Lance’s 80 yard touchdown arm

While Lance’s amazing start to his career may be a surprise to many, the 49ers have already seen his amazing arm strength in training camp. On Aug. 3, the team posted a video from training camp of Lance hitting a receiver mid-stride for a 50-yard pass on a touchdown. On Saturday, the Chiefs got to see it themselves.

TREY LANCE WITH AN 80-YARD STRIKE 😤

(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/J1ird6186A

— ESPN (@espn) August 15, 2021

As the 49ers entered training camp, the plan was to continue starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo as Lance developed. His early success in camp however almost changed their plans before the team even played a preseason game. While Garoppolo started the preseason matchup with the Chiefs, his first drive ended in a punt.

Lance entered the game for the 49ers’ second drive and his first NFL pass resulted in an incompletion. His second might have helped him earn a starting role with the team. On the deep route ran by Sherfield, the Chiefs secondary was caught cheating underneath the receiver and Lance’s pass hit him nearly in stride nearly 50 yards from the line of scrimmage. With just two passes, Lance has already surpassed Garoppolo’s longest pass of his career at 76 yards.

Trey Lance’s first NFL game

Going into the game, all eyes were on Lance’s preseason debut and the potential he’s shown. Head coach Kyle Shanahan drafted Lance with the third-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and hoped that they had found their quarterback of the future. First game nerves weren’t a concern of Shanahan’s before their first preseason game however, reported Jacob Camenker of SportingNews.

“I’m just excited to see him play like everyone else is,” Shanahan said of Lance’s debut. “It’s fun to watch quarterbacks go out there for the first time. But I don’t get nervous for the person or anything like that because I think it’s fun to watch. I know no one is going to remember how his first preseason game is, but they will the next day. That’s all right.”

Lance himself couldn’t wait to get his chance, as he expressed his excitement about starting his NFL career.

“Oh, (I’m) super excited,” Lance said. “Excited to go out and compete with this locker room of guys. And kind of at the same time, everything’s new. So, just being able to get used to everything — everything from the hotel the night before the game to pregame warmup. Everything’s going to be new, but at the same time, football is football.”

Photo by Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images