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San Francisco 49ers: 2018 midterm report-card grades by position

By Peter Panacy

GLENDALE, AZ - OCTOBER 28: Quarterback C.J. Beathard #3 of the San Francisco 49ers warms up before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - OCTOBER 28: Quarterback C.J. Beathard #3 of the San Francisco 49ers warms up before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /
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GREEN BAY, WI – OCTOBER 15: C.J. Beathard #3 of the San Francisco 49ers participates in warmups prior to a game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on October 15, 2018 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
GREEN BAY, WI – OCTOBER 15: C.J. Beathard #3 of the San Francisco 49ers participates in warmups prior to a game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on October 15, 2018 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

D+. . . . QUARTERBACK

So, how do you want to skew this? Before Jimmy Garoppolo’s injury or afterwards?

Garoppolo didn’t look quite as sharp over his first three starts of 2018 as he did during the 49ers’ final five-game stretch last year. That said, the Niners certainly wouldn’t be a one-win team halfway through this season if Garoppolo remained healthy.

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Instead, it’s C.J. Beathard’s show, for better or worse.

Beathard has certainly put the 49ers in position to win some games, namely a Week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers and arguably the team’s Monday Night Football letdown against the Green Bay Packers in Week 6. But Beathard failed to deliver down the stretch in each of those contests, so make of it what you will.

Even if those were relatively positive performances, each was subsequently set off by an abysmal outing. He was pegged for four turnovers (two interceptions and two fumbles) in the 49ers’ Week 5 home loss to the Cardinals. And he was just as turnover prone against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7.

Overall over his five starts, Beathard’s completion percentage is 60.4 (29th) and passer rating is 81.8 (27th).

There are a lot of problems with Beathard’s game, for sure. But one has to account for the fact he’s little more than a backup quarterback forced into a situation with a less-than-stellar supporting cast to help him.

If you were hoping for much, much more, you were being dishonest with yourself.

At any rate, Beathard will look to improve his stock value over the second half of the season — a point where San Francisco’s schedule gets notably easier than what it had to deal with over the first half.

Next. 49ers vs. Cardinals: Week 8 positional grades for San Francisco. dark

Maybe the grades for the team as a whole will improve too.

For more grades, advanced statistics and more at Pro Football Focus, subscribe
to PFF’s EDGE or ELITE subscriptions at ProFootballFocus.com.