49ers officially name C.J. Beathard the starting quarterback

The San Francisco 49ers have officially named rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard the starter after benching Brian Hoyer against Washington on Sunday, head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed in the postgame press conference.

With 6:39 to go in the second quarter, the 49ers pulled Hoyer in favor of Beathard. Hoyer had completed four of 11 passes for 34 yards, with a passer rating of 45.3. Hoyer has had decent games after slow starts in the past, but the 49ers made a switch.

Beathard’s first regular season pass attempt was a 13-yard completion to tight end Garrett Celek.

The conversation, to this point, has been focused on Beathard potentially playing in Week 16 or Week 17 — something along those lines. He was considered very raw, while Hoyer was considered better for now. Few expected the switch to occur this quickly, but the 49ers are in a youth movement.

Beathard looked pretty decent throughout the game. He completed 19 of 36 passes for 245 yards, a touchdown and an interception while being sacked twice for a loss of 19 yards. The interception was on the final play of the game as time expired. He also had his receivers drop, by my count, at least three passes.

Well, it’s the Beathard show now. We’ll see where it goes.