San Francisco 49ers: 5 players who need to improve in second half of 2018

The San Francisco 49ers kicked off the second half of their 2018 campaign with a decisive win over the Oakland Raiders in Week 9, although these five players still need improvement.

While the vast majority of the San Francisco 49ers‘ 2018 campaign has been bad, at least head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co. can take some comfort knowing they started off the second half of the season with a dominant, one-sided win over the Oakland Raiders in Week 9 on Thursday Night Football.

One of the biggest stories from the 34-3 victory, the Niners’ second of the year, was the come-out party for second-year quarterback Nick Mullens, who handled starting duties for C.J. Beathard after he suffered a wrist injury the previous week.

Simply put, Mullens was awesome. And while the Raiders boast arguably the league’s worst defense this deep into the year, it’s hard to take anything away from a quarterback who started the year on the practice squad.

Mullens played about as well as anyone could have dreamed in his debut. And Shanahan has little choice but to start him in Week 10 when the New York Giants come to town.

That said, has Beathard lost his starting job for good?

Possibly. It all depends how Mullens handles the pressure against better defenses than what Oakland showcased last Thursday. Still, Beathard is one of a number of players needing to show some improvement wherever possible between now and the end of the season.

Beathard’s stock will never improve unless he overcomes many of the shortcomings he displayed earlier this year. So, as Niner Noise takes a look at players needing to bounce back strong over the second half of 2018, let’s kick things off by looking at what Beathard needs to do if he gets his starting job back.