Brian Hoyer: Quarterback disappointed by performance against Carolina.
Brian Hoyer started the first game of his ninth season in the NFL. His first game with his sixth team. His first game as the unquestioned starter without a lot of drama.
And it wasn’t the way he envisioned.
“It was probably as disappointing as it could have been,” he said.
Hoyer, even with quarterback-whisperer Kyle Shanahan in his ear, couldn’t get the offense moving.
He was 24-for-35 for 193 yards and an interception. He was sacked four times for a total loss of 27 yards. His offense was 0-for-1 in the red zone. He put together a 70.3 quarterback rating, far below his career average of 84.8. He led one scoring drive: a thirdquarter effort that ended with a 44-yard field goal.
“It’s always good to get points on the board,” he said, “but when you get it handed to you like that, you’ve just got to go in and figure out what’s wrong, make the corrections and move on.”
No one expected Hoyer to come in and be Tom Brady. Or Derek Carr. He’s clearly a stopgap quarterback until either an established QB is signed next year or a youngster is ready to take the job.
But there’s an exasperation level around the team that once was famous for its skilled passers and is now the land of journeyman quarterbacks. Knowing the 49ers’ fans — well, any NFL fans — there will be a cry for rookie C.J. Beathard if things don’t turn around swiftly.
On Sunday, things didn’t go well from the start. At the end of the 49ers’ first possession, Hoyer threw deep to Marquise Goodwin, who couldn’t corral the ball for a pass that might have set up a touchdown. The next drive ended with a sackfumble. Then rookie linebacker Reuben Foster was injured, the Panthers scored and the 49ers’ offense was immediately operating from behind.
In addition to the four sacks, Hoyer was hit eight times.
“They’ve got a tough front seven,” Hoyer said. “We knew it was going to be a challenge for us.”
It looked too much like last season.
“He got hit too many times,” center Daniel Kilgore said, adding, “there are going to be some humbling experiences the next couple of days” while watching game video.
The 49ers’ offense went for it on fourth down four times, converting once. Two of the failures led directly to Carolina field goals.
As it did so often last year, the 49ers’ offense turtled as the game progressed.
“Once we got in that second half, we started to become a little bit one-dimensional,” Shanahan said. “That’s a defense you don’t want to become one-dimensional against.”
Next stop for Hoyer and the 49ers after the quarterback’s “disappointing as it could’ve been” debut: Seattle. Never a fun place for 49ers quarterbacks.