SANTA CLARA, Calif. _ Mike Mullens flew in from Alabama and gave his youngest son, Nick, a few "dad jokes" before his NFL debut Thursday night. What transpired over the next few hours surely fooled more than the visiting Raiders in a 34-3 rout.
Nick Mullens threw three touchdown passes, starting with two on his first two series, as he looked nothing like a third-string desperado filling in as the 49ers starting quarterback for an injured C.J. Beathard, who went 0-5 in place of an injured Jimmy Garoppolo.
Thus, the 49ers (2-7) found their way out of a six-game losing streak. The Raiders (1-7) dropped their fourth straight.
Mullens made a magnificent first impression, completing 16 of 22 passes for 262 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, no sacks and a 151.9 passer rating. Where this 23-year-old goes from here, time will tell. One game does not make a Hall of Fame career (see: Tim Rattay, 3 TD-debut, 2003). But it does bolster Mullens' prospects to remain on the roster as Garoppolo's top backup next season in the 49ers' hopeful return to contention.
Undrafted last year out of Southern Miss, Mullens spent last season on the practice squad, from which he got elevated to back up Beathard once Garoppolo sustained a season-ending knee injury in Week 3.
Once Beathard injured his right wrist and thumb in Sunday's 18-15 loss at Arizona, Mullens' moment was about to dawn, so he gave a heads up to his family in Alabama.
"He kind of let me know it was a possibility," said Mike Mullens, who flew in Wednesday night with his oldest son, Frank, from Birmingham, Ala. (via only one connecting flight through Las Vegas).
The Mullens family, including Nick's wife, Haleigh, had been to Levi's Stadium to witness his exhibition-season flair that captured 49ers fans' imagination. After Mullens' initial warmups Thursday night, he greeted his family on the sideline ropes, looking both calm and excited about what was to unfold.
The Raiders made for an inviting defense. Mullens' first two drives ended with third-down touchdown strikes to Pierre Garcon (24 yards) and Kendrick Bourne (4 yards) for a 14-3 lead. The second half also opened with a touchdown drive, as George Kittle first made a one-handed, 71-yard catch-and-run before producing a 5-yard touchdown reception.
Mullens celebrated that third touchdown with a pirouette, and then he got hoisted into air by left tackle Joe Staley, the 49ers' longest-tenured member who looked haggard as the losses mounted this season. Earlier, Staley and other offensive linemen rushed to be the first to congratulate Mullens after his first touchdown pass, and Garcon then handed his QB the ball as a memento.
The 49ers didn't publicly declare Mullens their starter until only a few hours before kickoff. Now they'll have to wait a few extra days until his encore, which again will come at Levi's Stadium in prime time, when the New York Giants visit on Monday night, Nov. 12.
