SANTA CLARA -- If 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan needed a reminder of the importance of having at least two competent quarterbacks, he had the notion reinforced on the opening drive of the team’s final exhibition game of the season.
Jimmy Garoppolo started, and Trey Lance was subbed into the action as the 49ers moved the ball down the field.
The 49ers pushed it across the goal line, but not before Garoppolo put himself in the way of danger.
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On a third-and-goal from the 1, Garoppolo rolled right, saw an opening and made a break for the goal line. He took on Raiders second-year linebacker Tanner Muse while 320-pound defensive tackle Niles Scott was closing hard.
Garoppolo made it into the end zone.
And the better news for the 49ers was that he got up to celebrate the score at Levi’s Stadium.
Shanahan gave the 49ers’ opening week opponent, the Detroit Lions, plenty to think about for how he might opt to deploy his quarterbacks this season.
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Garoppolo completed one of two passes — a 14-yard completion to tight end George Kittle. Lance took three snaps and did not attempt a run or a pass.
Counter-intuitively, it was Garoppolo who had the only rushing attempt for a 49ers quarterback on the first drive and provided a nice scare in the process.