© Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
LOS ANGELES — George Kittle has witnessed C.J. Beathard’s progression up close throughout the past five-plus years. After playing together for four seasons at Iowa, their paths conjoined in the NFL when the 49ers drafted them two rounds apart last year.
When asked about Beathard, Kittle throws out all sorts of superlatives.
Kittle says Beathard hates losing more than anyone he knows. The 24-year-old quarterback is one of the most competitive people Kittle knows. Beathard is as gritty — the most consistent descriptor attached to him — as anyone Kittle knows. And, perhaps most interestingly, Beathard can run longer than anyone Kittle knows, despite having a “dad bod,” as he jokes.
All of these characteristics endear Beathard to his teammates. On Sunday, he withstood consecutive roughing-the-passer penalties in which he took hard hits. He was slow to get up, but he almost always gets up. In the fourth quarter, he scrambled for a first down and was leveled to the ground. He lay there for several minutes but did not sit out a play.
“It’s going to be hard to get C.J. out of the game,” running back Matt Breida said. “That is what is going to make him a great quarterback.”
As a rookie, Beathard inherited the starting job for an 0-6 team with limited talent. He went 1-4 in the following five games. He drew praise mostly for his toughness and intestinal fortitude as he played through injuries. Production-wise, he was subpar, throwing four touchdowns to six interceptions and completing just 54 percent of his throws. He frequently held the ball too long, which helped enable some of the bone-crunching hits.
He answered all those criticisms in San Francisco’s 29-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday.
Beathard was terrific throughout the first quarter, completing five of his first six throws for 44 yards and a touchdown. He got into a rhythm that he sustained for the majority of the game.
Most impressively, he showed he can produce in many ways. On their third offensive drive, the 49ers used 21 plays and nearly 11 minutes to methodically march downfield. Beathard completed four of five passes on third down. On one drive in the fourth quarter, Beathard completed four straight passes, which yielded 82 yards in about a minute span, until Garrett Celek’s drop devolved into an interception. On the following drive, Beathard connected with Kittle on an 82-yard touchdown on the second play of the drive to cut Los Angeles’ lead to two. Beathard moved the safety with his eyes and delivered a strike to Kittle, who outran everyone.
In just about every facet, Beathard looked improved from his 2017 self.
“I felt a lot more comfortable than last year,” Beathard said postgame.
His teammates have seen his progression, too.
“I feel like he is more mature,” Kittle said. “I feel like we all are after getting a year under our belt. The guys responded to C.J. being out there and I think we responded really well.”
“He fires us up, man, the way he plays,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. “He is always going to put everything on the line. He is such a competitor.”
But the praises of Beathard don’t start and end with intangibles. Juszczyk followed his comment on Beathard’s competitiveness by highlighting his elite arm talent, something Kyle Shanahan has reiterated throughout the past year-and-a-half. Last year, Beathard hit Marquise Goodwin for an 83-yard touchdown in Week 10, which was San Francisco’s longest play of the year. Sunday featured the 82-yard touchdown to Kittle, which is the longest play through four games this year.
Beathard’s internal clock also improved. Last year, he took 17 sacks in the five games he started. When his first read wasn’t available, he consistently froze, struggling to progress into his second and third options. He took just one sack Sunday, added with James’ pressure that forced an interception late in the game. When his receivers weren’t open, Beathard improvised. He rushed seven times for 19 yards.
Beathard’s final stat line doesn’t fully encapsulate his afternoon. He completed 23 of 37 passes for 298 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. One of those interceptions was Celek’s fault. He dropped a pass he should have caught. On the second interception, James went unblocked, and Beathard had minimal time to scramble. Part of the blame rests on him.
Ultimately, the 49ers did not suffer a major production dip from Garoppolo to Beathard in his 2018 debut. Whether he maintains that is more important. Sunday provided an encouraging first glimpse.
“There’s a huge difference from Year 1 to Year 2,” Juszczyk said. “I know as a player, from my rookie year to my second year, it was night and day. I see that in (Beathard). I am sure things have slowed down. We can see his confidence.”