Nick Mullens To Start Against Giants

Nick Mullens
Nick Mullens gets the start at quarterback against the New York Giants. Photo Credit: Student Sports Elite 11 Atlanta via Creative Commons License.

The decision of who to start at quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football this week did not linger. Nick Mullens worked with the first team in practice on Tuesday and was told by head coach Kyle Shanahan that he will be under center for the second game in a row when the Niners take on the New York Giants.

Mullens was pressed into action last Thursday when C.J. Beathard injured his throwing hand in the 18-15 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 8. The 49ers tuned up the Oakland Raiders by a 34-3 score, led by Mullens’ 16-of-22 passing for 262 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. His 151.9 passer rating for the game was an NFL record for quarterbacks making their debut with at least 16 passes thrown.

It was Mullens’ first career start after spending all of last season on the 49ers practice squad. The undrafted free agent out of Southern Mississippi was elevated to the 53-man roster after Jimmy Garoppolo’s season-ending knee injury in Week 3.

Mullens had the benefit of not being sacked once by the Raiders’ league-worst pass rush and may have similar fortune against the Giants. New York ranks 31st in the league with just 10 sacks with Oakland being last with seven.

Beathard is just 1-9 in 10 career starts over two seasons with the Niners. The 2017 third-round pick from Iowa has 12 touchdowns to 13 interceptions and has completed 57.3 percent of his passes.

The Giants will be the second straight one-win team to come to Santa Clara for a primetime nationally televised game. Mullens could solidify himself as the starter with another solid game and a second consecutive victory.