Third-string QB Beathard throws three TDs; 49ers stun Cardinals
Loss threatens Arizona’s playoff hopes
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The San Francisco 49ers limped into Saturday’s game with no more playoff hopes and a group that included third-string quarterback C.J. Beathard, unheralded running back Jeff Wilson and several defensive backups.
Then they went out and pushed around the Arizona Cardinals anyway.
Beathard threw three touchdown passes, Wilson ran for 183 yards, and San Francisco dealt a brutal blow to Arizona’s playoff hopes by beating them 20-12.
For the 49ers, the win was all about pride for a team that went to the Super Bowl last year, but has endured a 2020 that’s fallen well short of expectations.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan wasn’t surprised by the gritty performance.
“We’re not proud of our record, we’d like to be better, but that doesn’t tell the story of who we are,” Shanahan said.
Because of the loss, the Cardinals (8-7) no longer control their own destiny in the playoff race. If the Chicago Bears win their final two games, they will reach the playoffs because of a tiebreaker over the Cardinals.
Beathard was making his first start since 2018 and was 1-9 as a starting quarterback before he was pressed into action against the Cardinals because of injuries to Jimmy Garoppolo and Nick Mullens.
It’s been a difficult past 12 months for Beathard, whose
with 14 points.
James — also the AP’s male athlete of this past decade — also won the yearly AP award in 2013, 2016 and 2018. Michael Jordan, a three-time winner, is the only other basketball player to win the AP award more than once.
“He’s one of the greatest leaders in sports,” Lakers guard Kyle Kuzma said of James. That applies on and off the court. James’ More Than A Vote organization drew more than 42,000 volunteers to work at polling stations for the November election, helped some earn back their voting rights and pushed for turnout among Black and young voters.
Black voters made up 11 percent of the national electorate, and 9 in 10 of them supported President-elect Joe Biden, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide. When compared to Hillary Clinton in 2016, Biden drew more voters in critical areas with large Black populations — such as NBA cities like Detroit, Milwaukee and Atlanta. That proved massive.
“The tragic death of George Floyd, everyone getting a chance to see that, and also hearing the story of Breonna Taylor, her tragic story, and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia ... my people have had enough and I have had enough,” James said. “That’s why I called for action and with my platform, I believed I could get people to join me.”
He also focused, as always, on his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
The I PROMISE School he opened in 2018 now has over 450 students in third through sixth grades. When the pandemic shut down then school, James and his team ensured students got hot meals delivered to their homes — even complete Thanksgiving meals. An affordable housing project for 50 families broke ground this year. And this month, plans for House Three Thirty (a nod to Akron’s area code) were announced, detailing how James is going to offer things like accessible family financial health programming, job training and a community gathering space.
“The pandemic has been rough on all of us,” James said. “No matter your situation, no matter where you are in life, it’s been rough. And the first thing I thought about, besides the stoppage of the season, when the pandemic hit was ‘What am I going to do for my kids back in my back in my school?’ ”
He is already eyeing 2021. The Lakers expect to be contenders again. His remake of Space Jam is expected to be released this summer. And James, who turns 36 Wednesday, hasn’t ruled out playing again for USA Basketball in the Tokyo Olympics on the team that will be coached by Gregg Popovich.
“It’s still possible,” James said. “It’s not a zero percent chance, I will say that. I love Coach Pop.”
But, as 2020 wound down, James allowed himself a moment to reflect on a year like none other.
“It’s a tribute to the people that I work with, to the people at my foundation, to the sponsors that continue to support us and what we do and what we strive for,” James said. “It’s unbelievable. I can’t sit here and say that at the time we stopped in March that I thought all this would happen and we would be at this point in December.”
Yet here he is, again.