Trey Lance runs Chargers to win

Inglewood, CA (The Compton Bulletin) – Trey Lance’s versatility as a playmaker has a been on full display thus far in the preseason. It’s only been a couple of games, but Lance’s ability pass and ad-lib with his legs and feet, has earned the veteran quarterback a big thumbs up from Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh. 

Lance had a successful outing in the NFL Hall of Fame Game against the Green Bay Packers. He tried to duplicate that magic against the New Orleans Saints. In a 34-7 win against the Packers, Lance completed 13 of his 20 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns and a rating of 114.6.  

Against the New Orleans Saints, Lance utilized more of his improvisational skills to help the Chargers record a 27-13 win at SoFi Stadium. Leading the team in rushing, Lance took advantage of a sometimes overly aggressive New Orleans defensive line and bolted out of the pocket whenever he could see daylight. 

“It helps me out a lot getting out of sticky situations,” Lance said about being able to run the football when it is needed. “I thought the O-line did a great job battling all night, run game, finishing the game like that. Just a ton of fun. It’s fun to work with new guys, and work with different guys. Those guys mixing and matching, moving around a little bit. I thought they did a great job and they battled all night.”

Lance accounted for nearly as many yards rushing (48 yards) as he did throwing the football (55 yards) against the Saints. With Lance setting the tone with his legs, the Chargers, as a team, rushed for 148 yards in picking up their second win of the preseason. 

Lance’s added ability to make things happen with his feet was significant, Harbaugh said. 

“Big, huge,” Harbaugh said.“Some key third downs and that just allows you to move the chains (and) get a new set of downs. Again, I thought he played really good, good presence and poised and in control and you just make the right decisions – You make the right decisions, that’s really what it comes down to and not everybody can do it.”

“The quarterback position is one of those – I mean, they could have the great arm, they could hit guys in one-on-one or seven-on-seven even, but when it goes to eleven-on-eleven, there’s a lot of bodies out there,” Harbaugh went on to say. “There’s a lot of people and they’re moving, and some guys are good at it and some aren’t, you know?”

Lance enjoyed the opportunity to be on the field competing.  

“I felt good. I’m excited to watch it,” said Lance. “Just like last week, for sure left a few out there but got a win. Shout out to the defense. It was a lot of fun to go out there and play with those guys again. Fun to be at home, at SoFi. It’s a cool feeling. Yeah, just taking it all in one day at a time, one step at a time and felt good about it.”

The Chargers has four quarterbacks in camp this summer. Lance is one of the four signal-callers. Starter Justin Herbert, along with rookie DJ Uiagalelei, and Taylor Heinicke round out the quarterback room. 

The second spot behind Herbert is what the other three quarterbacks are fighting for the opportunity to be. Harbaugh, though, is not at all interested in entertaining any discussion about the battle for second-place. 

“Like I said last year (and) the year before that, next year I’ll say it again. I’ll talk about first string quarterback competition, but we’re not going to talk about second string quarterback competition,” Harbaugh remarked. 

The third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Lance has a lot of upside and potential in his game. Getting the reps he’s gotten over the last two games got him pumped, Lance said. 

“I love it,” Lance said. “I think I said it last week or going into last week. When I heard we’re going to the Hall of Fame game, I was probably the most excited person that’s ever been in the Hall of Fame game. If they told me I could play four full preseason games, I’d be fired up about it so I was super excited.”

By utilizing his feet, Lance was ale to dance his way out of being sacked on a couple of plays and turned them into positive yards. It was Lance’s legs that help staked the Chargers to a 9-3 halftime lead, thanks to his 5-yard scramble into the endzone in the second quarter. 

Still, with what he was able to do against New Orleans, Lance looks for improvement. 

“I thought we put some drives together, “ Lance said. “A couple times we were three and out or off the field quick – that’s never good but shoutout to the defense once again. I’m excited to watch it, have a better idea tonight after watching it, of what I could have done better. I’m excited to build on this. This is a fun game to build on.”

This article appears courtesy of The Compton Bulletin