SANTA CLARA -- C.J. Beathard set a career high Sunday with 349 passing yards, but there was nothing to celebrate.
The 49ers quarterback also was responsible for four of his team’s five turnovers in a 28-18 loss to the previously winless Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.
“Obviously, after a loss like that, it doesn’t feel good for anybody,” Beathard said. “We’re going to stay positive throughout it all because we’ve got to move on to the next week. Obviously, we’ll watch the tape of this one, learn from it and get better from it.
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“But you can’t dwell on it for the next few days. Obviously, today and tonight will hurt and sting, but you’ve got to get past it.”
The 49ers (1-4) were left kicking themselves after thoroughly dominating the statistical columns. The Cardinals scored 21 points off 49ers turnovers, including the game-clinching play on which linebacker Josh Bynes scored on a 23-yard fumble return off Hassan Reddick’s sack and strip of Beathard in the fourth quarter.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan didn't place all the blame on Beathard, but he didn't absolve him, either.
“He’s a quarterback, and there’s a lot of responsibility on the quarterback to protect the ball,” Shanahan said. “There’s 10 other guys out there that can make it easier on him, too. I’ll get through all of them. Usually, fumbles it’s hard to pin on the quarterback. But we’ll look at them hard tomorrow and coach him up the best we can on them.”
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Fullback Kyle Juszczyk said the responsibility falls on everyone, including the necessity of the players in the pass patterns to get open quickly to give Beathard a target to whom to throw.
Said left tackle Joe Staley: “He’s back there trying to do what he’s got to do. We’ve got to give him more time.”
The 49ers must regroup in time to be ready for the national stage, as they travel next week to face the Green Bay Packers on Monday night.
Shanahan said he expects Beathard, who has shown promise in back-to-back losses to the Los Angeles Chargers and the Cardinals after taking over for injured starter Jimmy Garoppolo, to tighten things up in the future.
”The bottom line is you can’t lose the ball,” Shanahan said. “Whether you get hit, whether someone’s not open, sometimes you need to get rid of it, sometimes you need to take sacks. But the worst-case scenario, we plan on ending that series with the ball in our hand, and that’s something he’s got to do a better job of.”
