San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Beathard says he’s ready for the spotlight
The 49ers, who no longer have their telegenic franchise quarterback, have a 1-3 record and a schedule that includes five prime-time games in the next 56 days.
The reaction from the NFL: Did Joe Montana or Steve Young officially submit those retirement papers?
Last week, ESPN reported that “some within the league” were hoping the 49ers would trade for the reigning Super Bowl MVP, Eagles backup quarterback Nick Foles, instead of sticking with C.J. Beathard to replace Jimmy Garoppolo.
The obvious implication is that no one’s heard of Beathard, but a bigger-name QB might salvage television ratings.
Beathard’s reaction to being viewed as the
antithesis of must-see TV?
“You’ve just got to not even really think about it,” Beathard said. “With the good stuff, there’s bad stuff. You’ve got to take it both with a grain of salt.”
And head coach Kyle Shanahan’s response?
“I laughed a little bit; it’s very comical,” Shanahan said. “I wish we could worry about that stuff and help people out. That’s definitely the last of our worries. If you guys judge us on ratings and they gave us a trophy at the end of the year — a Super Bowl trophy for ratings — then I would maybe think that way.”
On Sunday, before the Garoppolo-less 49ers begin routinely kicking off at night, they will attempt to submit some evidence they remain worthy of prime time when they host the Cardinals (0-4) at Levi’s Stadium.
If they lose to the league’s only winless team, they’ll have a 1-4 record and might have NFL executives sobbing when they visit Green Bay on a Monday night (Oct. 15) and host the Rams on a Sunday night (Oct. 21).
And, if the 49ers can’t beat Arizona, it’s possible their own fans might not tune in to those prime-time affairs while shifting their focus to the 2019 draft and Garoppolo’s rehab.
Consider: The Cardinals will enter Sunday ranked 32nd in points scored and total offense, and ranked 31st in rushing offense, passing offense and rushing defense.
Rookie head coach Steve Wilks, who spent just one season as an NFL defensive coordinator before he was hired in January, acknowledges his team is “trying to weather the storm.”
“Oh-and-four is not what we anticipated, but our record is what it is,” Wilks said. “And we’ve got to find a way to get out of this hole.”
The 49ers’ banged-up and picked-apart defense will finally get what could be a breather after facing three former Pro Bowl QBs and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, an early season MVP candidate, in their first four games.
Arizona rookie quarterback Josh Rosen will make his second career start, including his first on the road. In last week’s starting debut, the No. 10 pick from UCLA completed 15 of 27 passes for 180 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions in a 20-17 loss to the Seahawks.
Rosen’s solid numbers were a bit misleading. The Cardinals’ website said Arizona’s pass catchers had five drops, including one on a would-be touchdown throw, that would have accounted for at least another 114 passing yards. Arizona finished with 263 yards.
“He’s a very, very talented quarterback — incredibly accurate,” said 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. “… All you have to do is watch that tape from last week and they probably should have had over 400 yards (of ) offense and 28 points.”
Meanwhile, Beathard will have a chance to build on an impressive 2018 debut. After he often looked overwhelmed during his five-start rookie season, the 2017 third-round pick threw for a career-high 298 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in a 29-27 loss to the Chargers. Beathard noted he had some completions he likely couldn’t have made last year. He pointed to a 13-yard pass to tight end George Kittle on 3rd-and-7 that he delivered as safety Derwin James was drilling Beathard.
“I mean, (Kittle) ran a great route, but I don’t know if I would have been able to get that out last year,” Beathard said. “It’s hard to say what would have happened or what wouldn’t have happened. I just know it slowed down a lot and I feel a lot more comfortable out there this year.”
Shanahan has made it clear he believes in Beathard, who isn’t worried about the way he’s perceived.
“When things are good, you’re on top of the world, people praise you,” Beathard said. “When things are bad, they’ll bash you. And you’ve just got to take both of those the same way and not even acknowledge anything on the outside.”
Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ebranch@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Eric_Branch