Should the 49ers Start C.J. Beathard Against the Cowboys?

Nick Mullens had an abysmal game against the Washington Football Team on Sunday.

Nick Mullens had an abysmal game against the Washington Football Team on Sunday.

He scored just as many points for Washington (14) as he did for the 49ers (15). A fumble lost for a touchdown and a pick six. Mullens was the 49ers' greatest threat on the field, not a player wearing white and burgundy.

Anytime your quarterback is that much of a liability, winning a football game becomes impossible. Mullens, of course, did not have the greatest support out there, but nevertheless it is the same story almost every game for him. 

At this point, should the 49ers start C.J. Beathard against the Cowboys?

Yes, they absolutely should. There is legitimately no reason to not roll Beathard out there. Even Kyle Shanahan isn't set on Mullens being the starting quarterback in Week 15.

"No, I'm just trying to consider what will give us the best chance to win and that's pretty much what I try to decide on that every week based off who plays," said Shanahan on if he is considering a quarterback change. "Just the way we've been turning the ball over so much, I need to decide if changing quarterbacks will help or not. So, that's something we'll look into, but regardless of what's going on in any situation, it's very tough to win football games when we've been turning the ball over."

Shanahan was just about ready to make the switch to Beathard once Mullens threw a pick six. You could see Beathard warming up on the sidelines and even Shanahan admitted himself that he was going to do it until Mullens bounced back on the following offensive series. 

The 49ers spent a third-round pick on Beathard. And while it is an indictment of Beathard's talent that he could not even get in a game where Mullens wet the bed, the 49ers have to just go a different direction at quarterback. Their season is over. The playoffs is not happening. Best case scenario is Beathard looks decent, keeps the game competitive, and the 49ers end up losing to secure a higher draft pick.

There is no better game for Shanahan to name Beathard the starter than against a lowly team like the Cowboys. Methodically, Shanahan will run circles around defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. It might just be his easiest play calling effort of the season, even with missing players on offense. With Mullens, Shanahan runs the risk of the simplest throws being thrown off key. He's been doing it all season long. 

At least with Beathard, you can hope he can make just the simple throws that are always there. Either way, the 49ers cannot be that much worse off with him. Just roll him out there and see what happens. These remaining games are about seeing what you have now.