In the division duel between the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals, Trey Lance could make his first big appearance. The 49ers are giving all the support they can to the 21-year-old, who has yet to do anything unfamiliar in the NFL.

Munich – On Sunday, all eyes of San Francisco 49ers fans will likely be on one person: Trey Lance.

The rookie quarterback will be the starter and sole quarterback for the first time in the duel with division rival Arizona Cardinals, because opponent Jimmy Garoppolo will not be fit in time due to calf problems.

So the 49ers’ hopes rest on the shoulders of the 21-year-old number three pick, who has so far had to share the role of passer with “JimmyG”. After Garoppolo’s premature exit on Matchday 4 against the Seattle Seahawks, Lance already slipped into the role of sole responsible for the playmaker position from the second half onwards.

His record was still capable of improvement.

After an even start in the second half, the 49ers quickly fell behind 7:21 – also because Lance couldn’t really get his offence going.

In college, Lance never had to chase a deficit and finished his year at North Dakota State with an unblemished 17-0 record.

Lance threw just 318 passes in college

In all, he threw just 318 passes in college, a circumstance that is bound to change in the NFL. At 14:28 from the 49ers’ perspective and four and a half minutes on the clock, a two-minute drill is actually called for.

Lance navigated his offense to a score in just over three minutes. Still, an impressive performance from the rookie, given the fact that he never found himself in such a pressure situation in college.

“He’s in a boat with a lot of rookies that you look at and you know that’s not a finished player,” 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel told a media panel. “You know there’s going to be some setbacks along the way. You accept that. But you just do your best and try to get better,” McDaniel said of the demands on Lance.

The latter is “hungry enough” to do that, the offensive coordinator praised.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has also been full of praise for his inexperienced quarterback in recent days: “He’s encountering things on the field that he’s never seen before. But some of the things he’s not ready for, he can compensate for with his athletic ability, his competitive ambition and his class as a football player. “

49ers working on match plan for Lance

Over the past few days, the 49ers’ practice has focused on working on a matchup plan that would accommodate Lance’s skills so they don’t have to jump him in at the deep end again.

For the moment, the challenge for his possible starter debut could hardly be greater. The Cardinals are the only NFL team still undefeated and impress above all with a furious offence that no team has yet been able to stop.

All the more pressure on Lance to deliver offensively if he doesn’t want to leave the burden solely on the injury-plagued 49ers defence.

But it is clear to everyone involved that the 21-year-old still needs some time to fully arrive in the NFL. Just how long that can take is shown by his counterpart Kyler Murray, who is only now, in his third year, well on his way to making the final breakthrough into a complete quarterback.

Lance can take the first step toward that goal on Sunday, but he knows he has prominent support on his side in the 49ers’ ranks.

The number three pick is ready to step out of the shadows.