The San Francisco 49ers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in a 27-17 score that was made largely by the play of the second and third stringers. The running backs got some awesome carries and Aaron Lynch looked like The Juggernaut. Nothing really compares to this two-hit gem courtesy of the newly formed C.J. Beathard/Kendrick Bourne connection.
We’ll start with the TD. There was some improv behind all of this. It was later stated that Bourne was supposed to cut into the inside, but was unfortunately cut off by the defender. Beathard saw the opening and dumped the ball off hoping Bourne would see it and reroute himself.
The thing to keep in mind here: Beathard was about to get pancaked, and he didn’t just throw it somewhere a defender was for a costly interception. Bourne saw the reroute and caught it like it were a dime. It’s then off to the races for 46 yards.
To be fair, this is all from a bust in coverage on the Chiefs secondary, but it’s still impressive. I’d like to think if he threw that ball in a game that mattered it’d probably end up on the ground or in the hands of the opposition, but if Beathard was making a last ditch effort—good thinking.
What comes next is the impressive part. To tie the game up, the 49ers need to go for two points. Beathard lobbed a ball into the endzone which Bourne caught while a defender was essentially attached to his clavicle.
Those reach-over catches are incredibly difficult, no matter who it is. To be fair, Bourne may have gotten away of a bit of a push-off, but it’s nothing substantial that would warrant a flag (I can barely see it anyways to make that suggestion).
We don’t know where these two will go in their NFL careers, but if last night was any indication, they both have something to build on. Kendrick Bourne was a bit of an unknown compared to his counterpart Cooper Kupp, but he had some solid production during his time at Eastern Washington. He has the size and if this is any indication-physicality that he could be worth using a roster spot on.