49ers vs. Chargers: Week 4 preview for San Francisco
By Chris Wilson
49ers QB C.J. Beathard vs. Chargers QB Philip Rivers
Sunday will technically be 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard’s first official game action of the 2018 season. The 2017 third-round draft pick did see the field last week, but his single play — a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end George Kittle — was called back due to a poorly called offensive pass interference penalty.
Beathard started five games for the 49ers last season after taking over for veteran QB Brian Hoyer in Week 6, and looked like every bit like a rookie over the majority of those games. Beathard’s lone bright spot of the year was a 31-21 victory over the New York Giants San Francisco’s first victory of the 2017 season:
| Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Rush | Rush | Rush | Rush | Scor | Scor | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Opp | Result | GS | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | Rate | Sk | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | Att | Yds | Y/A | TD | TD | Pts | |
| 1 | @ | ARI | L 15-18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 2 | @ | WAS | L 24-26 | 19 | 36 | 52.78 | 245 | 1 | 1 | 72.1 | 2 | 19 | 6.81 | 6.11 | 1 | 14 | 14.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | DAL | L 10-40 | * | 22 | 38 | 57.89 | 235 | 0 | 0 | 76.1 | 5 | 48 | 6.18 | 6.18 | 5 | 30 | 6.00 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| 4 | @ | PHI | L 10-33 | * | 17 | 36 | 47.22 | 167 | 1 | 2 | 46.9 | 4 | 23 | 4.64 | 2.69 | 6 | 40 | 6.67 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | ARI | L 10-20 | * | 24 | 51 | 47.06 | 294 | 0 | 1 | 57.1 | 5 | 28 | 5.76 | 4.88 | 3 | 16 | 5.33 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| 6 | NYG | W 31-21 | * | 19 | 25 | 76.00 | 288 | 2 | 1 | 123.4 | 0 | 0 | 11.52 | 11.32 | 5 | 15 | 3.00 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| 7 | SEA | L 13-24 | * | 22 | 38 | 57.89 | 201 | 0 | 1 | 61.4 | 3 | 23 | 5.29 | 4.11 | 6 | 21 | 3.50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1-5 | 123 | 224 | 54.91 | 1430 | 4 | 6 | 69.2 | 19 | 141 | 6.38 | 5.54 | 26 | 136 | 5.23 | 3 | 3 | 18 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Beathard continued to demonstrate his toughness and ability to take big hits, until he finally couldn’t get up after receiving a game-long pounding by the Seattle Seahawks in Week 12. Beathard was replaced by Garoppolo, who promptly threw a touchdown pass to end the game, and continued the following week as the 49ers’ starting quarterback.
The one thing Beathard brings to the table over Garoppolo is his rushing ability, as the 49ers’ former backup QB rushed for three touchdowns last season. His speed and scrambling ability were on display for Los Angeles last preseason, when Beathard scampered for a 62-yard touchdown run against the Chargers:
This man just put the entire Chargers D on skates...
— NFL (@NFL) September 1, 2017
C.J. BEATHARD GOES 62 YARDS TO THE HOUSE! 😱 #LACvsSF https://t.co/cTKTmYZ4ab
So far this season, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers’ 15th year in the league has been his finest, with the QB on pace for career bests in passing yards, touchdowns, interceptions and quarterback rating:
| Year | G | GS | QBrec | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | TD% | Int | Int% | Lng | Y/A | AY/A | Y/C | Y/G | Rate | Sk | Yds | NY/A | ANY/A | Sk% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 62.5 | 33 | 1 | 12.5 | 0 | 0.0 | 13 | 4.1 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 16.5 | 110.9 | 0 | 0 | 4.13 | 6.63 | 0.0 | |
| 2005 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 22 | 54.5 | 115 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 4.5 | 22 | 5.2 | 3.2 | 9.6 | 57.5 | 50.4 | 3 | 16 | 3.96 | 2.16 | 12.0 | |
| 2006* | 16 | 16 | 14-2 | 284 | 460 | 61.7 | 3388 | 22 | 4.8 | 9 | 2.0 | 57 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 11.9 | 211.8 | 92.0 | 27 | 144 | 6.66 | 6.73 | 5.5 |
| 2007 | 16 | 16 | 11-5 | 277 | 460 | 60.2 | 3152 | 21 | 4.6 | 15 | 3.3 | 49 | 6.9 | 6.3 | 11.4 | 197.0 | 82.4 | 22 | 163 | 6.20 | 5.67 | 4.6 |
| 2008 | 16 | 16 | 8-8 | 312 | 478 | 65.3 | 4009 | 34 | 7.1 | 11 | 2.3 | 67 | 8.4 | 8.8 | 12.8 | 250.6 | 105.5 | 25 | 151 | 7.67 | 8.04 | 5.0 |
| 2009* | 16 | 16 | 13-3 | 317 | 486 | 65.2 | 4254 | 28 | 5.8 | 9 | 1.9 | 81 | 8.8 | 9.1 | 13.4 | 265.9 | 104.4 | 25 | 167 | 8.00 | 8.30 | 4.9 |
| 2010* | 16 | 16 | 9-7 | 357 | 541 | 66.0 | 4710 | 30 | 5.5 | 13 | 2.4 | 59 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 13.2 | 294.4 | 101.8 | 38 | 227 | 7.74 | 7.77 | 6.6 |
| 2011* | 16 | 16 | 8-8 | 366 | 582 | 62.9 | 4624 | 27 | 4.6 | 20 | 3.4 | 58 | 7.9 | 7.3 | 12.6 | 289.0 | 88.7 | 30 | 198 | 7.23 | 6.64 | 4.9 |
| 2012 | 16 | 16 | 7-9 | 338 | 527 | 64.1 | 3606 | 26 | 4.9 | 15 | 2.8 | 80 | 6.8 | 6.5 | 10.7 | 225.4 | 88.6 | 49 | 311 | 5.72 | 5.45 | 8.5 |
| 2013* | 16 | 16 | 9-7 | 378 | 544 | 69.5 | 4478 | 32 | 5.9 | 11 | 2.0 | 60 | 8.2 | 8.5 | 11.8 | 279.9 | 105.5 | 30 | 150 | 7.54 | 7.79 | 5.2 |
| 2014 | 16 | 16 | 9-7 | 379 | 570 | 66.5 | 4286 | 31 | 5.4 | 18 | 3.2 | 59 | 7.5 | 7.2 | 11.3 | 267.9 | 93.8 | 36 | 189 | 6.76 | 6.45 | 5.9 |
| 2015 | 16 | 16 | 4-12 | 437 | 661 | 66.1 | 4792 | 29 | 4.4 | 13 | 2.0 | 80 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 11.0 | 299.5 | 93.8 | 40 | 264 | 6.46 | 6.45 | 5.7 |
| 2016* | 16 | 16 | 5-11 | 349 | 578 | 60.4 | 4386 | 33 | 5.7 | 21 | 3.6 | 59 | 7.6 | 7.1 | 12.6 | 274.1 | 87.9 | 36 | 188 | 6.84 | 6.37 | 5.9 |
| 2017* | 16 | 16 | 9-7 | 360 | 575 | 62.6 | 4515 | 28 | 4.9 | 10 | 1.7 | 75 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 12.5 | 282.2 | 96.0 | 18 | 120 | 7.41 | 7.60 | 3.0 |
| 2018 | 3 | 3 | 1-2 | 75 | 108 | 69.4 | 906 | 8 | 7.4 | 1 | 0.9 | 42 | 8.4 | 9.5 | 12.1 | 302.0 | 115.7 | 4 | 26 | 7.86 | 8.88 | 3.6 |
| Career | 199 | 195 | 107-88 | 4246 | 6600 | 64.3 | 51254 | 350 | 5.3 | 167 | 2.5 | 81 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 12.1 | 257.6 | 95.2 | 383 | 2314 | 7.01 | 6.93 | 5.5 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Rivers’ passing motion may not be pretty, but the 2004 first-round draft pick continues to put up big numbers for the Chargers. Rivers, who turns 37 this season, appears to get better with age, and will be a challenge for a young, injury-riddled San Francisco secondary on Sunday.