The C.J. Beathard era began with a thrillingly Sunday with a near upset over the heavily-favored Redskins. Beathard, inserted in the second quarter for the struggling Brian Hoyer, had the 49ers in position to win, but a bad call on Pierre Garcon contributed to 49ers sixth straight loss to start the season.
The game didn’t end until Beathard threw his only interception of the game from the 50-yard line on 4th-and-20. It was the 49ers fifth straight loss by 3 points or fewer. The first time that has happened in NFL history.
Even Kyle Shanahan, who handed-picked Brian Hoyer to be his quarterback, couldn’t ignore his struggles any longer. Down 14-0 In the second quarter after Hoyer consistently threw inaccurately and short of the third-down marker, Shanahan opted for third-round rookie C.J. Beathard.
Beathard’s first drive included a key drop on third down by his former Iowa teammate, George Kittle. But on his second drive, Beathard found Pierre Garcon down the middle for a long completion and on the next play, he bulleted a pass to Kittle to get the 49ers into the Washington red zone.
Beathard’s ability to move in the pocket and his fearlessness in throwing down the field was noticeable. However, the mistakes that dogged Hoyer’s starts, bedeviled Beathard as well: dropped passes and vexing penalties. On a drive just before the half, the 49ers’ sideline failed to call a time-out to spare the rookie quarterback a delay-of-game penalty.
Nevertheless, Beathard led the team to a touchdown on only the second drive of his career. It took Hoyer over 20 drives to score a touchdown. Beathard also made plays when seemingly nothing was there. With just under two minute to play, Beathard stepped up in the pocket, something Hoyer rarely did and fired a strike to Aldrick Robinson, his favorite preseason target. Robinson then evaded a tackler and scored a 45-yard touchdown.
The play fluttered hearts in FedEx Field, with the score narrowed to 26-24.
Beathard was greatly helped by linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong, who striped former 49ers tight end Vernon Davis of the ball in the third quarter. Jimmie Ward scooped the ball and ran it to the Washington 1. Carlos Hyde then spilled over right tackle from there to tie the score 17-17 with 3:01 left in the third quarter.
Beathard made mistakes no question. While driving on the first drive of the third quarter, Beathard took a damaging sack. However, he was salvaged by a 52-yard Robbie Gould field goal. He took another sack in third quarter, right before Gould pushed a 47-yarder. However, one has to think that his pocket presence will only improve.
Maybe even Shanahan was inspired by Beathard. In the third quarter, Shanahan called a pitch out of deep I-formation third-and-1 to backup running back Raheem Mostart that went for a first down and got the 49ers close to the red zone.
Beathard and the 49ers reeled off 17 unanswered points until a 3-and-out in the middle of fourth quarter.
The team made some other moves, including inserting rookie cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon for Rashard Robinson. Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins picked on him initially, which allowed the Redskins to boot a field goal and take a 20-17 fourth-quarter a lead.
In the end, it was the veteran Cousins, a player the 49ers might be yearning for, who made the plays to win the game. A 51-yard pass-and-run to old teammate Davis set Washington up for another score with 6:03 left. It led Cousins’ 1-yard scoring run with 3:28 left, and pumped up the score to an insurmountable 26-17 lead.
The 49ers were anticipating starting rookie linebacker Reuben Foster after he went through a week of practice. However, Foster sustained a setback with his high-ankle sprain in Thursday’s practice. Under general manager John Lynch and Shanahan, the 49ers have establish a reputation of going slowly with injured players. It make sense to handle that type of injury conservatively.
Surprisingly, safety Eric Reid who sported a bulky knee brace throughout the week of practice did play.
When Beathard entered, the entire offense seemed to pick up. Blocks were crisper, the running backs seemed to run harder. For example, Hyde busted two tackles on the first drive of the second quarter, which he has had trouble doing this year. The question will be can it last under the rookie?
