Nick Mullens, SF 49ers throw away opportunity vs. Eagles

The SF 49ers and Nick Mullens threw away a golden opportunity with their loss to the Eagles.

It was all set up for the SF 49ers.

They were back home after getting two dominating wins on the road against both New York teams, the Jets and Giants, in Weeks 2 and 3. Their backup quarterback, Nick Mullens, had just played about as solid a game as anyone could have anticipated, especially since he had not started a game since 2018.

He also had additional weapons at his disposal, as tight end George Kittle and receiver Deebo Samuel were back from injuries. And they were playing a winless Philadelphia Eagles team whose starting quarterback, Carson Wentz, was devoid of his top four receivers due to injury and playing as poorly as any QB  in the league.

The table was set.

And then the wheels fell off, as the Eagles knocked off the 49ers 25-20 at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.

The loss was a story of missed opportunities for Mullens and the SF 49ers. First, the team could have moved to 3-1 on the season, positioning themselves alongside the 3-1 Los Angeles Rams, trailing just behind the 4-0 Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West. It would have set them up nicely going into their next game against the 1-3 Miami Dolphins. After that, the Niners will hit a tough four-game stretch against the Rams, then on the road at the New England Patriots, at the Seahawks, before returning home to face the Green Bay Packers.

Now, instead, they sit at just 2-2, and the task looks a bit more daunting.

For Mullens, who came into the game having thrown for 2,620 yards, which placed him third all time behind only the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and the Indianapolis Colts’ Andrew Luck in that timeframe, it was a chance for him to showcase his talent in a prime-time slot to teams who may be looking for a starting QB after the season.

Mullens is set to be a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2020 season, but with big money due to Jimmy Garoppolo and the huge extension Kittle signed this past offseason, it seems a longshot Mullens will be back with the team next year. After struggling against the Eagles, it may have cost him more than just a team victory.

He may have played himself out of a much bigger contract as well.

In fact, Mullens played poorly enough for head coach Kyle Shanahan to replace him with third-string quarterback C.J. Beathard. And while Mullens numbers weren’t awful, (18-of-26 for 200 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and a fumble), the eye test showed he struggled at times with accuracy and indecision. This led the offense to squander scoring opportunities throughout the game.

In one example, Mullens missed a wide-open fullback, Kyle Juscszyk, in the flat on what would have been a huge gain, if not a touchdown, early in the first quarter Sunday night.

Then with the 49ers trailing 8-7 with just under three minutes to go in the half, Mullens had the team in the red zone with a chance to take the lead. But again, he misfired, this time throwing off his back foot, sailing the ball over his intended target and into safety Rodney McLeod’s hands.

Then, with the Niners clinging to a 14-11 lead in the fourth quarter, Mullens fumbled on a sack by cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc, which later led to an Eagles touchdown that put them up 18-11 with just under six minutes left in the game. With an opportunity to lead the Niners to a fourth-quarter comeback, Mullens once again turned it over, this time throwing off-target, misreading an underneath coverage by linebacker Alex Singleton. Singleton returned it for a touchdown and a 25-14 Eagles lead.

That was all for Mullens on the night, as Beathard came in for him on the next series.

Now to his credit, Beathard played solid in relief of Mullens, going 14-of-19 for 138 yards. However, it was against an Eagles’ secondary showing soft zone coverages being up two scores with under six minutes to play. The SF 49ers did score a touchdown with Beathard at QB, driving 75 yards in 12 plays to cut the Eagles’ lead to 25-20, but it was too little, too late.

After the SF 49ers defense held the Eagles to a 3-and-out, the team moved the ball downfield and attempted a hail mary on the final play. It was tipped but bounced harmlessly to the turf as time ran out on Beathard and the Niners.

The 49ers have been decimated by injuries, yet their overall roster talent should have been enough to overcome an injury-riddled Eagles team that was ripe for the picking.

San Francisco will look to rebound against a struggling Dolphins team next Sunday, as Garoppolo and running back Raheem Mostert are hopeful to return to the starting lineup.

But as stated before, the schedule gets much tougher after that.

In this division, especially, missed opportunities like the ones the SF 49ers had on Sunday can be the difference between vying for a playoff spot or watching from home. If they want to be playing meaningful games in December and January, the team can ill-afford a repeat of Sunday’s performance.