TAMPA, Fla. -- Nick Mullens had a tough Sunday in the 49ers’ 27-9 loss to the Buccaneers, and coach Kyle Shanahan said, as usual, he’ll re-evaluate the position.
“I evaluate it every week, honestly,” Shanahan said. “There’s no difference with that, and I’ll continue to do that with every position on our team for the next five weeks.”
Mullens completed 18 of his 32 passes for 221 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions for a 62.1 rating. That’s in stark contrast to his first NFL start in Week 9 against the Raiders when he completed 16 of his 22 passes, threw for three TDs and registered a 151.9 rating.
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SIGN UP HERE Shanahan was frank about his thoughts on Mullen’s play Sunday, but he didn’t place all the blame on his young quarterback.
“I don’t think he played well,” Shanahan said. “Just looking at some of our situations, but that wasn’t all him. No one played well, especially in the passing game. I thought we did do some good things in the run game, like I said earlier. But all around, we didn’t do good enough.”
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Mullens was under pressure for much of the game, as he was sacked four times for negative-27 yards and hit nine times. Before Sunday, he hadn't been sacked once.
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When asked why the 49ers’ offense was unable to get into a rhythm, Mullens couldn’t put a finger on a specific reason.
“I don’t know exactly what it was,” he said, “but there was a time there where we just couldn’t stay on schedule. We had a couple second- and third-and-longs, and anytime you get in those situations, it’s hard to fight back from.”
The 49ers only converted one of their eight third downs. They only needed 1 yard for that conversion, which happened midway through the third quarter. The remaining seven third downs ranged from being 7 to 30 yards away. They were in a third-and-26 situation twice.
After the game, Mullens took ownership for the 49ers’ passing game challenges.
“It’s frustrating,” he said. “We thought we had a chance. We definitely had our chances and we didn’t take advantage of them, and a lot of that starts with me.”
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Whether or not Mullens remains the 49ers' starter remains to be seen.
Shanahan previously has said it’s been good for previous starter C.J. Beathard to step away and get healthy after a wrist injury. And up until Sunday, Mullens had been getting rid of the ball quickly and avoiding sacks.
Beathard has struggled in those areas. He took a beating in his six starts this season, being sacked 18 times for negative-156 yards. The Cardinals dropped him four times in each of their matchups, and the Rams took him to the ground a whopping seven times.
Beathard connected on 102 of his 169 passes in those six games for a 60.4 percent completion rate. He also threw eight TD passes and seven interceptions, giving him just a 81.8 rating.
The 2017 season was a similar story for Beathard, who was sacked 19 times for negative-141 yards in seven games. He completed 123 of his 224 passes, and threw four TD passes and six interceptions for a 69.2 rating.
The 49ers’ next matchup doesn’t get any easier, as they travel to Seattle to face the NFC West rival Seahawks on Sunday.