Niner Noise
FanSided

Cowboys vs. 49ers: Full Week 7 preview for San Francisco

By Logan Stanley

SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 02: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys rushes the ball against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on October 2, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 02: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys rushes the ball against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on October 2, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
GLENDALE, AZ – OCTOBER 01: Free safety Jaquiski Tartt #29 of the San Francisco 49ers during the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium on October 1, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals defeated the 49ers in overtime 18-15. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ – OCTOBER 01: Free safety Jaquiski Tartt #29 of the San Francisco 49ers during the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium on October 1, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals defeated the 49ers in overtime 18-15. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Week 7 by the numbers

It finally happened. After weeks of massively inconsistent play from quarterback Brian Hoyer, head coach Kyle Shanahan made the switch from Hoyer to rookie C.J. Beathard.

And a switch seemed to be flipped, as Beathard erased a 17-point deficit before the Washington Redskins stymied the comeback attempt with a late fourth-quarter interception.

When Beathard entered the game, the 49ers were down 17-0. That was at the 1:51 mark in the first quarter.

By the 3:03 mark in the third quarter, the game was tied at 17 apiece.

It was truly a remarkable turnaround. For the game, Beathard finished 19-36 passing for 245 yards and one touchdown and one interception. The highlight of the day for Beathard came on the 45-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Aldrick Robinson (via The Niner Wire’s Rob Lowder):

There were of course some mistakes, as Beathard struggled on dropbacks when facing pressure. But nonetheless, it was still a performance that bodes well for the future outlook of the 49ers.

As for defense, a lot has been talked about defensive lineman DeForest Buckner. And rightfully so — the second-year Buckner is currently PFF’s No. 2 overall interior defender with a 91.9 grade.

There’s really no way around it, Buckner has been playing at All-Pro level this season. Right now, he’s one of the best defensive lineman in the entire NFL.

But there have been some other standouts for San Francisco’s defense this season. One of those is safety Jaquiski Tartt, who is enjoying a career year so far in 2017.

Tartt firmly came into the rotation in Week 2 as safety Eric Reid went down with a knee injury. Since then, Tartt has impressed. Particularly in the run game, the former second-round pick has been a formidable force.

Per PFF, Tartt has 10 run stops — which is tied for second-most among all safeties. Last week against Washington, Tartt finished with an 81.5 grade from PFF, ranking among the top six for 49ers players.

It’s plays like these that make Tartt stick out (via Rob Lowder):

The recent play of Tartt now clouds the future of Reid. Is Reid, a 2013 first-round draft selection, now expendable? It’s definitely something to keep an eye on the season progresses.