Preseason football shouldn't matter too much. The San Francisco 49ers sat plenty of key players out of precaution in their preseason finale, as they've done through this month.
But new starting quarterback Trey Lance played, and he didn't play all that well.
Lance has just been OK this preseason. He has missed passes. He hasn't looked great. That might mean nothing, but it continued Thursday.
Lance underthrew two passes, including one to a well-covered Deebo Samuel down the field, on the 49ers' first drive against the Houston Texans. He was under pressure at times, in part because fantastic left tackle Trent Williams didn't play.