Cardinals vs. 49ers: Grading San Francisco’s efforts

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SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 05: C.J. Beathard #3 of the San Francisco 49ers is hit late by Antoine Bethea #41 of the Arizona Cardinals during their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium on November 5, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Quarterback

It is hard to judge Beathard’s performance considering just how much duress the rookie was under against the Cardinals.

Facing Arizona, Beathard was sacked five times and hit 16 times. That is correct — 16 quarterback hits for the Cardinals. It was a beating for Beathard. Unfortunately for the rookie, it is nothing new to Beathard.

#49ers C.J. Beathard, in just over 3.5 games, has endured 16 sacks and FORTY-SEVEN hits
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) November 6, 2017

Per PFF, Beathard completed “just 2-of-14 attempts for 26 yards and an interception, good for a 9.8 passer rating […] ” while under pressure. When he was not pressured, Beathard actually played pretty well, finishing 22-37 passing for 270 yards.

The interception Beathard threw was a terrible one, as his pass bounced off offensive lineman Trent Brown’s helmet and into the hands of linebacker Karlos Dansby.

For the game, Beathard was 24-51 passing for 294 yards and one interception. Beathard did flash some of that speed again, scoring on a one-yard touchdown run.

Grade: C+

Running back

After starting off the season hot running the ball, things have seemed to cool for running back Carlos Hyde. On 12 carries against Arizona, Hyde was only able to whip up 41 rushing yards. That is an average of 3.4 yards per carry — not the most efficient showing.

Hyde did have success catching the ball, notching nine receptions for 84 yards. Both of those totals lead the team.

But the fourth-year running back was involved in a 4th-quarter altercation with Cardinals players after Beathard was hit late on a slide. Hyde ended up being ejected for fighting, along with linebacker Hasson Reddick and defensive lineman Frostee Rucker.

No. 2 running back Matt Breida did very little, finishing with one carry for one yard and two receptions for 18 yards.

Grade: C

Wide receiver/Tight end

With No. 1 wide receiver Pierre Garçon out for the season with a neck injury, an uninspiring corps is working at a deficit. And that deficit was made a little bit bigger against the Cardinals, as rookie wide receiver Trent Taylor exited the game with a rib injury.

That meant Marquise Goodwin, Aldrick Robinson, Kendrick Bourne and Victor Bolden Jr. were the only healthy wide receivers available. And Bolden Jr. is primarily a return man, so the 49ers basically had three usable wide receivers.

The lack of talent was evident, as no 49er pass-catcher had over three receptions or more than 68 receiving yards. Dropped passes, which has become a paramount issue for this unit, persisted in Week 9.

Goodwin had two drops — one coming on a 50-yard pass — and tight end George Kittle had two drops as well. There are a few reasons Beathard only completed 47 percent of his passes on 51 attempts, faulty hands being one of them.

That now puts San Francisco at 21 drops for the season, which is most in the NFL.