SF 49ers grades, breakdowns from ugly Week 4 loss to Eagles
By Peter Panacy
The SF 49ers lost ugly to the Eagles, falling 25-20 in Week 4, which leads to some pretty critical grades, especially for quarterback Nick Mullens.
If there was any doubts the SF 49ers need to have quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo under center as the regular starter, they were erased during their disjointed and mistake-riddled 25-20 Week 4 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football.
Putting things more bluntly, backup quarterback Nick Mullens showed he was and is, essentially, nothing more than a backup.
Sure, Mullens isn’t entirely to blame for the Niners’ second loss of the season. He was under regular pressure by a good Eagles defensive line all night long, taking 15 quarterback hits and multiple sacks, which influenced some of his decision-making abilities. At the same time, though, Mullens’ decisions were anything but sound throughout the game, leading to multiple points for a Philadelphia squad that was winless and massive underdogs heading into the contest.
The situation for San Francisco got bad enough late in the game, so much that head coach Kyle Shanahan elected to bench Mullens in favor of the No. 3 option, C.J. Beathard, who nearly engineered a miraculous comeback late in the fourth quarter.
Alas, it wasn’t enough. Instead, Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz did enough against a shorthanded and on-the-field-too-much SF 49ers defense, while Philly’s own defense came up with enough clutch plays to frustrate Shanahan’s game plan.
The Niners now find themselves 2-2 and need Garoppolo back as soon as possible.
Until then, however, the position grades and analysis will only feature a handful of positives, while the vast majority of grades won’t look too kindly upon San Francisco’s Week 4 efforts on prime time.