49ers face QB decision after bye week

Nov 16, 2017 - 5:12 PM SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Francisco 49ers will have a week off to savor their first victory of the season, a 31-21 win over the New York Giants on Sunday at Levi's Stadium.

But once the 49ers' bye week ends, head coach Kyle Shanahan will have a decision to make at quarterback for their Nov. 26 home game against Seattle.

Jimmy Garoppolo spent a second straight game on the sideline since coming to the 49ers from the New England Patriots on Oct. 30 for a second-round draft pick in 2018.

Rookie C.J. Beathard passed for 288 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score against the Giants.

Shanahan, according to a report by ESPN, plans to have Garoppolo start against the Seahawks.

"It never was the plan," Shanahan said. "I'm taking it week by week."

Shanahan said he hasn't decided which quarterback will start the next game. The fact the Beathard aggravated an injury to his right thumb on his touchdown run, however, could factor into his decision.

Beathard was asked if he believes he earned another start.

"I just feel like I'm just excited right now where we are," Beathard said. "We just won the game and I'm not really looking that far ahead. I got a long bye week right now that I'm excited to rest and kind of recover a little bit.

"When that time comes, it's up to the coach and I'll support his decision. If I'm the guy, then I'm going to go in and work my butt off and do the best that I can."

--Giants head coach Ben McAdoo is under increasing pressure with every loss, but he said he doesn't worry about job security.

"No. That doesn't have anything to do with anything," McAdoo said. "We have to find a way to win a game. We have to go address what happened out here on the field today, take a look at the tape and be honest with each other."

Giants quarterback Eli Manning said he has "great respect" for McAdoo.

"He's done a good job getting us ready to play every week, and we just have to play better," Manning said.

--San Francisco rookie running back Matt Breida had his first NFL touchdown run, a 33-yard burst with 9:19 left to play, increasing the 49ers lead to 31-13.

"It was an outside zone play," Breida said. "The offensive line and receivers did a great job of blocking. I saw the cutback and there was no one back there."

Breida carried nine times for 55 yards, and starting running back Carlos Hyde carried 17 times for 98 yards. The 49ers rushed for 186 net yards to 114 for New York.

"Once we get the run game going, it's hard for teams to stop," Breida said.

--Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard had a career day in a rough loss. He caught 11 passes for 142 yards -- both career highs -- and averaged 12.9 yards per grab.

"I'm just trying as much as I can," Shepard said. "We didn't come out (with a) win, so I'm not very happy about that."

Shepard leads the Giants in receiving yards (475) and ranks second in catches (38) behind rookie tight end Evan Engram (40).