Photo credit: sfchronicle.com

By: Joe Lami

CJ Beathard’s return to the starting role brought a similar outcome to the San Francisco 49ers, as they lost 29-27 to the Los Angeles Chargers.

49er faithful packed the stands of the StubHub Center in Southern California on Sunday only to see more injuries, missed tackles, and drops that continue to be the demise of the red and gold that included dropping an early 14-0 lead.

San Francisco lost both Joe Staley and Dante Pettis for the entirety of the game to knee injuries in the first half. Reports following the game appear to be good news for San Francisco, as they don’t seem to be as severe as initially feared. Both Staley and Pettis are scheduled for MRIs on Monday back in Santa Clara to confirm.

The back-breaking moment came on the second drive in the third quarter for San Francisco. Four straight pass completions and a penalty later, Beathard did a great job of airing the ball out; only to be let down by his receivers. Beathard looked into the direction of Garrett Celek inside the ten-yard line, but the tight end couldn’t handle the pass and popped it up for an easy pick. Trevor Williams nearly brought it back to the house but was tripped up at the 12.

The 49ers defense stood tall deep in their red zone and held LA to three points, but the ten-point swing gave the Chargers all the momentum with their 20th unanswered point to give them a 26-17 lead.

Beathard was mediocre in his 2018 debut, passing 23-of-37 for 298 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. His play by any means wasn’t the deciding factor in the loss. However, his play isn’t strong enough either to make up for the many glaring holes across most positions.

Tight end, George Kittle continues to be a bright spot despite who’s at quarterback. He connected with Beathard on the longest play of the day on an 82-yard touchdown. He finished with six catches for 125 yards and the score.

The defense helped him out early on too. On the first drive of the game, on an immediate third down, Antone Exum jumped a route and brought the ball back for his first career pick-six.

It was the only play the Niners really made against Philip Rivers, who finished 25-of-39 for 250 yards, three touchdowns, and the pick.

Just a day after being downgraded to questionable, Exum had his strongest performance as a Niner, finishing with the TD, while adding three pass deflections, and three tackles.

Minus Exum, the linebacking core continues to carry much of the weight for the 49ers. Fred Warner and Ruben Foster combined for ten and seven tackles respectively.

Coming into the week, tackles were a major concern for San Francisco, as they lead the league in missed tackles. It continued to be the storyline on Sunday too, as too many missed tackles led to big plays for LA.

Melvin Gordon gave the Niners fits, finishing with 104 yards on 15 rushes in the loss.

San Francisco needs to regroup and look forward to next Sunday, where the 49ers have a must-win game against the 1-3 Cardinals.