Beathard recalls late brother after win vs. Cardinals

The San Francisco 49ers' 20-12 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday had a special meaning for quarterback C.J. Beathard.

Beathard threw for three touchdowns and had a passer rating of 125.4 in his first start in over two years. It took place days after the one-year anniversary of the death of his younger brother, Clayton, who was stabbed outside of a bar in Nashville on Dec. 21, 2019.

"It means more than I can really put into words," Beathard said postgame, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN. "Everything that I've been through the last year and it being the year anniversary of my brother passing, it's just one of those things that you can't really put it into words. ... You can't write a script any different. I couldn't handpick this to go the way it did."

Beathard, who earned a chance to start due to injuries to Jimmy Garoppolo and Nick Mullens, completed 13 of 22 pass attempts for 182 yards.

He was helped by a career day from running back Jeff Wilson, who compiled 204 scrimmage yards and one touchdown against the Cardinals.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan praised Beathard and his supportive teammates postgame.

"You could feel during the week of practice, he came in on Wednesday when he first got his reps just so ready to go," Shanahan said. "I think you could tell how hard they played for him, too. I was very impressed with C.J. and very happy for him today."

The 6-9 49ers will finish their regular season against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

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