Brian Hoyer’s day ended in Week 6 after only a little more than a quarter against Washington. In the middle of the second quarter, the San Francisco 49ers turned over the reins to rookie third-round pick C.J. Beathard and gave extra snaps to rookie running back Matt Breida who entered the game with the rookie quarterback.
49ers replace Brian Hoyer with C.J. Beathard vs. Washington
C.J. Beathard got his first regular season action and impressed.
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The rookie entered the game Sunday with a 14-0 deficit at FedEx Field, which may hold some sentimental value to Beathard. His grandfather, Bobby Beathard, was the general manager in Washington for 12 seasons, including the team’s Super Bowl-winning seasons in 1982 and 1987.
Beathard’s first drive was a three-and-out, but his second spanned 75 yards over 11 plays and ended with the first points of the game for San Francisco when Carlos Hyde ran in for a 1-yard touchdown.
By the end of the game, Beathard had 245 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception. That was impressive enough to earn him the starting job moving forward, according to 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan.
Hoyer completed four of 11 passes to begin the game for 34 yards before he was replaced by Beathard. The journeyman quarterback started the first five games of the season too with four touchdowns and four interceptions, while the team got out to an 0-5 start.
The question now is whether or not the 49ers will give a lengthy leash to Beathard if the rookie struggles, or if he’ll get yanked and replaced with Hoyer again. The 49ers are rebuilding, so seeing how the rookie looks can be a positive, but hurting his development is a danger too.
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