OK, Jimmy Garoppolo. Your time has come.
The 49ers' new quarterback was forced into Sunday's game with just over a minute remaining because of an injury to C.J. Beathard. With the ball on the Seattle 18, Garoppolo put San Francisco in the end zone for a touchdown, completing a 10-yard pass to Louis Murphy for the score.
Unfortunately for the 49ers, the game was already decided. The touchdown just narrowed the margin in a 24-13 defeat.
But with several weeks to learn the offense since being picked up from the Patriots, it seems likely Beathard will be benched for next week's game against the Bears. With Beathard leading the offense Sunday vs. the Seahawks, the 49ers could muster just six points on two field goals (though he helped set up Garoppolo's late TD).
The game was close until the third quarter, when the 49ers drove for a field goal to come within 7-6.
The Seahawks came right back for a touchdown on a 17-yard pass from Russell Wilson to Nick Vannett to go up 14-6, going 71 yards on just six plays. The Seahawks tacked on another touchdown, on a Wilson pass to Jimmy Graham in the fourth quarter, and a field goal to seal the Niners’ fate.
San Francisco falls to 1-10 after their bye week.
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Beathard, in perhaps his last start at quarterback before Jimmy Garoppolo takes over, completed 22-of-38 passes for 201 yards with an interception and was sacked three times and hit 13 times. Marquise Goodwin again was his best big-play target, catching four balls for 78 yards, but the offense was overmatched even against a Seahawks offense missing several stars with injuries.
Though Beathard, a third-round pick from Iowa, showed his toughness through several starts this season, it seems likely he’ll be benched for Garoppolo. The 49ers are eager to see what he can do.
The 49ers will travel to Chicago this week to take on the Bears. Kickoff Sunday is set for 10 a.m. in the Bay Area.
