49ers coach Kyle Shanahan has made the decision as to who will start at quarterback for the 49ers against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday after saying earlier this week he would deliberate with his coaching staff.
Shanahan on Wednesday announced he would stick with Nick Mullens and not switch to C.J. Beathard, despite Mullens turning the ball over twice Sunday against Washington. The turnovers led to a pair of defensive touchdowns in the eight-point loss.
“I plan on Nick starting,” Shanahan said over Zoom from Arizona. “We’ll always see what goes on in practice, but Nick’s the guy we’ll start out with and we’ll see how it goes.”
The thinking is there will be a short leash for Mullens, meaning more turnovers or missing open receivers — a common occurrence in recent weeks — will lead Beathard getting rare game action.
The 49ers have turned the ball over 18 times in their last seven games and have a 2-5 record over that span. Even in wins against the Patriots and Rams, San Francisco gave the ball away five times. The team’s 25 turnovers are the second most in the NFL.
Mullens has 10 interceptions and three lost fumbles. He’s also been sacked 17 times in nine games and has a 2-5 record as the starter in place of Jimmy Garoppolo, who has not returned to practice but could after Sunday’s game, if the doctors feel comfortable with the progress made on his right high ankle sprain.
Shanahan’s message to Mullens is simple, though he reiterated Mullens also needs more help from his supporting cast.
“If he wants to stay out there, he’s got to stop turning the ball over,” Shanahan said. “But I think when you look back to Sunday night, I think the other thing that sticks out the most is he missed a number of open throws, just throwing over guys’ heads, I guess, about four of them right now. I think that really sticks out to people and sticks out to fans and stuff, and it does to me, also. Nick needs to make those throws and he’s capable of making those throws, but I also know it doesn’t help when you have nine drops on top of that.”
Mullens said he was “a little antsy” during Sunday’s game and many of his bad throws stemmed from not being fundamentally sound with his footwork.
“If I stay calm in the pocket and go with my reads and then everything else takes care of itself,” Mullens said. “And so that’s one thing that I’m going to focus on this week.”
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Mullens since entering the league as an undrafted rookie in 2017 has endeared himself to Shanahan and the coaching staff for his work behind the scenes. By all accounts, Mullens excels in classroom preparation and his knowledge of the offense. That shows in the fact he can move the ball effectively and put up numbers that not many other backups could.
Mullens in 18 career games has thrown for 4,495 yards with an 88.2 passer rating, hampered by his 10 touchdown to 10 interceptions. Mullens’ 4,186 yards is third among all quarterbacks through their first 15 starts in the Super Bowl era.
The biggest mistake Mullens made Sunday was his late third quarter pick-six to defensive back Kamren Curl that was returned for a 76-yard touchdown. Mullens was trying to find fullback Kyle Juszczyk in the right flat, his outlet on the play, but Juszczyk darted up field and Mullens’ pass was behind him leading to the Washington score that put the game out of reach.
Shanahan said after the game Mullens should have thrown the ball away. Mullens on Wednesday said avoiding those mistakes is a focus this week before traveling to Dallas and taking on the NFL’s sixth-ranked passing defense.
“Just make the simple play,” Mullens said. “That’s the biggest thing. Just make the simple play. Don’t try to do too much. If it’s not there, throw it away. And that’s up to me. I have the ball in my hands every play, and so I’ve just got to protect it.
“I mean, those are routine plays,” he continued. “Those are expected to be made, that’s the expectation at the position. And that keeps us on the field, so I’ve got to be more accurate.”
Mullens in 2021 is a restricted free agent, meaning the 49ers will have a chance to match any offer he receives from another team. How he plays down the stretch could factor into San Francisco’s decision. The same is true for Beathard, who is in the final season of his rookie contract after being a third-round pick in 2017.
Shanahan pointed out poor quarterback play can draw emotional responses from himself and fans, and he tries to let the game tape speak for itself when it comes to evaluating the position after the fact.
“That’s why you’ve got to study the tape and really think about it and do what’s best for the team,” he said. “(I) thought about it for two days. Nick’s going to get the start week unless something goes crazy in practice, but they’re both ready to play. C.J. gets plenty of reps and they’re in a situation like I kind of said all year, I see both of them as backups for us right now. They’re trying to prove that they’re capable of being starters and they haven’t proved that fully. They could be more consistent with that.”
