First start not always snappy
Even the greatest QBs struggled in their 49ers debuts
Joe Montana, Steve Young, John Brodie and Y.A. Tittle did not reach the Pro Football Hall of Fame based on their 49ers starting debuts.
None, in fact, finished those first starts.
Rookie C.J. Beathard gets his turn Sunday when he starts against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. He joins a 49ers starting quarterback legacy filled with success and failures, some from the very first start (as recited below).
“Everyone wants to win their first game, and everyone wants it to be just like college, but it’s not,” Peyton Manning said in 2005 after Alex Smith’s failed debut. “It is the NFL for a reason. It’s a big adjustment.”
Beathard enters with some momentum and experience. Last Sunday, he relieved Brian Hoyer in the second quarter at Washington and rallied the winless 49ers into a 17-17 tie before succumbing 26-24. Beathard’s 245 passing yards were the second-most in a game by a rookie, trailing Tom Owen’s 316 yards in a 34-0 rout at Chicago in 1974.
Now let’s go into franchise history and see how its all-time passing leaders fared in their 49ers starting debuts:
1. Joe Montana
Dec. 2, 1979: Cardinals 13, 49ers 10
Stats: 5-of-12, 36 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 49.3 rating
Summary: First-year coach Bill Walsh’s 49ers were 1-12 when he gave the starting nod to his thirdround draft pick from Notre Dame. Montana’s first completion went for 1 yard, he got sacked three times and he gave way to Steve DeBerg, who rallied the 49ers to a 10-7, fourth-quarter lead in the eventual loss at Busch Memorial Stadium.
Quote: “There was almost enough offense in the first half to stifle a yawn.” – Tom Barnidge, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
2. John Brodie
Dec. 15, 1957: 49ers 27, Packers 20
Stats: 5-of-12, 75 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs, 23.3 rating
Summary: The 49ers’ first-round draft pick grabbed a 10-point lead, then came two interceptions and a fumble before being replaced by Y.A. Tittle, who led a comeback from a 20-10 halftime defict.
Quote: “There’s no substitute for experience, and don’t think Brodie won’t be a good quarterback.” – Coach Fankie Albert (Oakland Tribune).
3. Steve Young
Nov. 15, 1987: Saints 26, 49ers 24
Stats: 5-of-6, 80 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 158.3 rating
Summary: A concussion sent Young out of the game and Montana into it, leading to a fourth-quarter comeback attempt.
Quote: “I argued a little. But being the athlete I am, I told them I was fine. Bill said there’d be another time.” – Young (Press Democrat).
4. Jeff Garcia
Oct. 3, 1999: 49ers 24, Titans 22
Stats: 21-of-33, 243 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 106.0 rating
Summary: Garcia, filling in for an injured Steve Young, won his NFL debut after starring in the Canadian Football League for three years, and not only did he throw two touchdown passes, he also ran for a score.
Quote: “It’s really unfair to put Bill in a position where if I fail, he’s lost his touch; if I do great, then he’s still a genius. The guy’s a genius no matter what.” – Garcia on being signed by Bill Walsh, then the GM (Associated Press).
5. Y.A. Tittle
Dec. 9, 1951: 49ers 31,
Packers 19
Stats: 5-of-8, 73 yards, 0 TD, 2 INTs, 52.6 rating
Summary: A first-quarter interception didn’t spoil Tittle’s debut, but trailing 13-10 at halftime, Frankie Albert took over for a commanding comeback.
Quote: “The 49ers almost fluffed another game they should have had with little trouble. And, strangely enough, it revived that old debate as to who is the best quarterback, Frankie Albert or Y.A. Tittle.” – Wally Willis, Oakland Tribune.
6. Alex Smith
Oct. 9, 2005: Colts 28,
49ers 3
Stats: 9-of-23, 74 yards, 0 TD, 4 INT, 8.5 rating
Summary: Mike Nolan waited until Week 5 to debut Smith, and the No. 1 overall draft pick responded with five turnovers (four interceptions, fumble) against Peyton Manning’s unbeaten Colts.
Quote: “They were reading a rookie quarterback’s eyes, and a few times I gave myself away. … I talked to Peyton, and he says it’s going to get better.” – Alex Smith (Associated Press).
7. Colin Kaepernick
Nov. 19, 2012: 49ers 32, Bears 7
Stats: 16-of-23, 243 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT 133.1 rating
Summary: Sharing the “Monday Night Football” spotlight with Kaepernick’s dazzling debut was 2011 draft classmate Aldon Smith, who had 5 ½ sacks.
Quote: “Usually I tend to go with the guy with the hot hand, and we’ve got two quarterbacks with hot hands.” – Coach Jim Harbaugh (Mercury News).
8. Frankie Albert
Sept. 8, 1946: Yanks 21, 49ers 7
Stats: The 49ers were 7-of-14 for 98 yards on “forwards.” Summary: A 7-0 lead under sunny skies gave way to defeat in the San Francisco fog. Albert was a Stanford All-American who returned from World War II, became one of the All-America Football Conference’s stars and later coached the 49ers from 1956-58.
Quote: “Frankie Albert, the 49’er quarter, whipped a pass to John Strzykalski in the flat, and John, hemmed in by Yankee tacklers, deftly relayed the pigskin into the waiting arms of Lem (Len) Eshmont, who romped 60 yards for a touchdown.” – Oakland Tribune.
9. Steve DeBerg
Sept. 3, 1978: Browns 24, 49ers 7
Stats: 16-of-32, 174 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT, 37.8 rating
Summary: DeBerg pulled the 49ers into a 7-7 tie with his first touchdown pass to Ken MacAfee but otherwise bombed in the season opener. A Dallas Cowboys 10th-round draft in 1977, DeBerg went 7-28 as the 49ers starter until yielding to Montana.
Quote: “Boy am I glad this first one is over. I learned a lot, believe me.” – DeBerg (Akron Beacon Journal).
10. Steve Spurrier
Nov. 26, 1967: Colts 26, 49ers 9
Stats: 10-of-24, 72 yards, 0 TD, 3 INT, 9.7 rating
Summary: Spurrier, the No. 3 overall draft pick in 1967, saw a 6-6 tie slip away when one of his three interceptions got returned for a go-ahead touchdown by the Colts, who improved to 9-0-2 with quarterback Johnny Unitas.
Quote: “I learned a lot today. If I had done real well today, I’d have been very surprised.” – Spurrier (Baltimore Sun).
11. Tim Rattay
Nov. 2, 2003: 49ers 30, Rams 10
Stats: 19-of-29, 236 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT, 110.7 rating
Summary: This triumphant effort began a rickety stretch as the 49ers’ onagain, off-again starter, totaling a 4-12 record in that capacity through 2005.
Quote: “He didn’t overachieve in any sense. He’ll have games like that.” – Bill Walsh, who drafted Ratty as general manager in 2000 (Contra Costa Times).