HOUSTON — When the Houston Texans put their two-game win streak on the line against the 8-7 San Francisco 49ers, there is a possibility that Trey Lance will start under center in place of the injured Jimmy Garoppolo.
Garoppolo is dealing with a right thumb injury, and if he is unable to play, Lance will become the fourth rookie quarterback the Texans will face this season. The Texans are 2-2 against rookie quarterbacks, but have had an eminent amount of success against the class of 2021.
“I think with our system, we have the ability to disguise coverages and throw different things at an opponent,” defensive coordinator Lovie Smith said on Thursday. “It does not matter if it is a rookie quarterback or not.”
Smith continued: “With some of those young quarterbacks that we have played, there is something about experience. Our job is to try and disguise our coverages as much as possible before the snap. It starts with the pass rush up front.”
Of the six rookie quarterbacks who have appeared in an NFL game this season, the Texans have played against No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence twice as an AFC South counterpart and shared the field with Mac Jones and Zach Wilson once.
In the four games played, the Texans have held their rookie opponents to an average of 229.5 passing yards while giving up four touchdowns. Houston’s defense has recorded five interceptions against rookie quarterbacks and registered nine sacks.
Lawrence had the best game of all rookies at the position when going up against the Texans’ defense during his NFL debut — where he recorded a game-high 332 yards and three passing touchdowns. But the Texans spoiled Lawrence’s impressive debut with three interceptions amid their 37-21 Week 1 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in September.
But unlike Lawrence, Jones, and Wilson, Lance has a chance to have a breakout performance against the Texans on Sunday with the limited amount of games played.
In the 15 games, the rookie prodigy from North Dakota State has appeared in 116 offensive snaps. Lance started one game in place of Garoppolo in October during the 49ers’ 17-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, where he recorded 192 passing yards and one interception.
“What we will do, though, is we’ll go back and look during the preseason when Trey (Lance) played quite a bit and kind of look and see if they did things any differently,” coach David Culley said. “But I do know Kyle (Shanahan)’s offense has been the same through his whole career as a coordinator. Obviously, they’re going to run what they run and they’ll use their quarterback with what they feel like he does best for them.”