What we learned about Lance in 49ers' crucial win over Texans originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers did what they had to do Sunday with rookie quarterback Trey Lance making his second NFL start and his first at Levi’s Stadium.
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Lance threw two touchdown passes to help lead the 49ers to a crucial 23-7 victory over the Houston Texans in Week 17.
The 49ers entered the game in control of their own destiny.
Coach Kyle Shanahan’s team can assure itself a spot as an NFC wild-card team with victories in their final two games of the regular season.
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The 49ers (9-7) finish the regular season at the NFC West-leading Los Angeles Rams.
Here are three takeaways from the 49ers’ win:
Lance comes on strong
When Lance made his first start on Oct. 10 against the Arizona Cardinals, it appeared the club had more faith in him as a runner than as a passer.
That is what it looked like in the first quarter on Sunday, as Lance had four rushing attempts for 14 yards in the 49ers’ first two possessions of the game.
But Lance ended up making a lot more important plays with his powerful right arm with two second-half touchdown passes.
Lance completed 16 of 23 pass attempts for 249 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception.
Lance’s 45-yard touchdown pass to Deebo Samuel with 9:56 remaining in the fourth quarter gave the 49ers a little breathing room and brought the capacity crowd to its feet.
Lance’s second touchdown pass of the day gave the 49ers a 17-7 lead.
It was not always easy, though.
The 49ers’ offense was non-existent through most of the first half. But Lance led a six-play, 56-yard drive in the final 38 seconds of the first half.
Robbie Gould made a 37-yard field goal as time expired to cut the Texans’ lead to 7-3 at halftime.
Brandon Aiyuk was Lance’s top target in the passing game, as he caught four passes for 94 yards.
The 49ers also picked up 37 yards on their first touchdown drive of the game when Texans defensive back Terrance Mitchell was called for a 37-yard pass interference penalty against Aiyuk.
Mitchell makes impressive return
Running back Elijah Mitchell became the 49ers’ all-time single-season rookie rushing leader despite missing six games due to injuries.
He also made his mark as a pass-catcher with one of the key plays of the game.
Mitchell’s 8-yard touchdown reception from Lance with 5:53 remaining in the third quarter gave the 49ers a 10-7 lead.
He rushed for 119 yards on 21 carries.
Mitchell has squeezed in a whole lot of playing time into his limited games, and Sunday was no different upon his return from missing three games with concussion and knee issues.
When the day began, Mitchell ranked between Vic Washington (1971) and Ken Willard (1965) on the 49ers’ all-time list. Mitchell needed 53 yards to rise to the top of the list.
Defense starts hot again
The 49ers’ defense continued their trend of starting games fast and not allowing the opposition to get much going in the first halves of games. This time, it carried into the second half, too.
The 49ers’ third-down defense was atrocious in their Week 16 loss to the Tennessee Titans. And they were crushed in that regard before the end of the half, when the Texans converted four third downs en route to the first touchdown of the game.
Rookie quarterback Davis Mills found Brandin Cooks against the coverage linebacker Fred Warner for a 7-0 lead. The touchdown pass, which came on third down, capped a 14-play, 80-yard touchdown drive after Lance was intercepted.
But other than that stretch of the game, the 49ers’ defense thoroughly controlled the game.
Linebacker Marcell Harris made a huge play when he intercepted Mills in the third quarter. (He appeared to fumble the ball back to the Texans, but it was ruled his forward progress had been stopped).
That takeaway led to the 49ers’ first touchdown of the game and their first lead, 10-7.
The 49ers had their issues at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Cornerback Josh Norman was called for his sixth pass interference penalty (and his 10th penalty of the season). He was benched after the 33-yard penalty. Dontae Johnson replaced him. Johnson was called for a 23-yard pass interference on The mistakes did not hurt the 49ers, as Ka’imi Fairbairn missed a 45-yard field goal attempt.
The 49ers’ defense made things difficult for Mills, who completed 21 of 32 passes for 163 yards. He was also sacked three times for minus-27 yards.
