GREEN BAY, Wis. – C.J. Beathard saw the all-out blitz and went for the home run.
Instead, it turned into the type of play that has come to symbolize the 49ers of 2018.
Beathard threw deep for Marquise Goodwin before the Green Bay Packers' blitz arrived. His pass was underthrown and defensive back Kevin King made the interception. The turnover set up Aaron Rodgers for the game-winning drive as the Green Bay Packers rallied for a 33-30 victory on Monday night at Lambeau Field.
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“There’s a lot of choices there against an all-out blitz,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “[Beathard] definitely chose the wrong one.”
Said Beathard, “It was an all-out blitz and it was something me and ‘Quise worked on. He’s just running by the guy. It’s a play if you hit it, it looks great.
“I felt I obviously could’ve put it in a better spot, if I could have it back.”
One week after committing five turnovers in a loss to the Arizona Cardinals, the 49ers had three giveaways and no takeaways in the loss to the Packers.
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Beathard, making his third start of the season after replacing an injured Jimmy Garoppolo, made a lot of plays. He completed 16 of 23 pass attempts for 245 yards and two touchdowns and one interception.
“We have 100-percent confidence in C.J.,” 49ers left tackle Joe Staley said. “Everyone else thinks of him as a backup. He’s not a backup. The guy’s a starter. He runs our offense really well. He knows what he’s doing. He’s trying to make a play against one-on-one coverage to Marquise down the field, and he tried to let him make a play.”
There is no question Beathard is the 49ers’ starting quarterback. And there is no question that Nick Mullens is the backup, either. The 49ers would like to add a third quarterback to be in the building if the health of the team allows for it, Shanahan said. The 49ers decided, when they have the opportunity, they will sign veteran free agent Tom Savage over Matt Simms, a source told NBC Sports Bay Area.
Beathard showed a lot of promise on Monday, but the offense failed to come up with the plays that could have won the game on the 49ers’ final two possessions of the game.
The 49ers took over with 4:06 remaining in regulation with a seven-point lead. But a three-and-out gave the ball back to Rodgers, who promptly led Green Bay to the game-tying touchdown two minutes later.
Then, the 49ers had an opportunity for the victory when they took over at their own 47-yard line with 1:49 remaining after Richie James had a 32-yard return with a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness tacked on at the end of the return.
But, again, the 49ers failed to achieve a first down. After Beathard hit tight end George Kittle for 7 yards, Beathard’s pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage and he threw the interception on a third-and-3 situation.
“We just didn’t execute those last two drives, and we had an opportunity to come out with a win,” Staley said. “We were running the ball really well. Then on the last two drives it was three and out. That’s the story of the game for us. It’s frustrating to go three and out when we were playing so well the whole game.”
With Matt Breida still nursing a sore ankle, speedster Raheem Mostert saw a lot of action instead of veteran Alfred Morris. Mostert came through with a career day, gaining 87 yards on 12 rushing attempts. But on the final two drives, he carried just once for minus-1 yard.
“Yeah, it hurts,” Beathard said. “It’s tough because you’re so close. You feel like you could’ve and should’ve won the game. But you got to get back on the horse and move on to next week.”