49ers’ win over Rams wrought with emotion after death of C.J. Beathard’s brother

The joy of improving to 12-3 for the 49ers with their last-second win over the Los Angeles Rams was overshadowed by a tragedy some 17 hours earlier in Nashville.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan’s eyes welled up to start his postgame news conference. Star tight end George Kittle, the club’s unofficial energy source, called it the “toughest game of my career.” Right tackle Mike McGlinchey said the team’s collective heart was broken.

That’s because reserve quarterback C.J. Beathard got a phone call in the middle of the night informing him his younger brother, Clayton, had been fatally stabbed outside a bar in Nashville. He was 22 years old.

Shanahan addressed the situation with the team during his postgame speech in the locker room. He was with Beathard for an hour at the team hotel after Beathard got the news at roughly 3 a.m. Beathard flew home Saturday morning to be with his family while teammates found out on social media.

“He barely could talk,” Kyle Shanahan said to the team during his postgame speech. “The last thing he said to me when he walked out the door, ‘You make sure the guys go win this game.’”

Beathard a reserve and a key figure

Beathard hasn’t been a star on the field for San Francisco. He hasn’t played a snap this season and was overtaken by Nick Mullens late last year as the primary backup to Jimmy Garoppolo. Beathard’s been inactive for all 15 games.

But he’s revered as a teammate and friend to a slew of players, including Kittle and receiver Trent Taylor, who spent time with the three Beathard brothers, including Clayton and Tucker, in recent offseasons.

Kittle has gotten to know the Beathard family over the past eight years. He was roommates with C.J. during their time together on the football team at Iowa. The fact they both landed on the same NFL team in the same draft in 2017 was serendipitous given their friendship.

“(Clayton) was identical to C.J. and Tucker,” Kittle said. “And the fact that he was the most competitive person I ever met, whether we were playing hoops, target practice, anything that we did. He was so competitive but he always had so much fun doing it. He was really just a positive light in the world. It will definitely not be a better place without him.”

Clayton died after being stabbed in the side during a fight outside a bar early Saturday, according to a news release issued by police. Another victim, Paul Trapeni III, 21, also died from stab wounds, police said.

“C.J. always told me when he didn’t have a wide receiver in the offseason, he would make Clay run routes for him even though he was a quarterback,” said Kittle. “And he always complained about it. But yeah, we always had a good time together.”

Clayton Beathard played quarterback at Long Island University, where he was in his junior year as a sports management major.

“I know C.J. and his brothers, they were three of the most close guys,” Taylor told The Bee. “They were all three of each other’s best friends. Any time we were hanging out in Nashville, they were all with us having a blast. I know that they do everything together. Just to see something like that happen to such a good family, such a good, close, group of people, it just really makes you sick to your stomach.

“... And that’s just what really makes it hurt because of how good of people they are. They definitely don’t deserve something like this.”

49ers win wild game over Rams

Between the lines, San Francisco’s game was fraught with errors and speed bumps. It was just the third time this season it had been out gained by an opponent. The Rams jumped ahead, 14-3, retook a 4-point lead in the third quarter, and hit a game-tying field goal 2:36 remaining.

But the 49ers had a response for each sequence.

The game was won on another Robbie Gould field goal as time expired, just as it happened two weeks ago in New Orleans, after San Francisco converted consecutive third-and-16 plays after struggling throughout the night on third down.

The first was an 18-yard completion to receiver Kendrick Bourne, who’s made a habit of clutch catches recently. The second was a 46-yard bomb to Emmanuel Sanders that got the team in range for the game-winning kick.

“Kyle Shanahan just gave me a chance, truthfully,” Sanders said. “It was a great call. I would say that I did something but I just felt like I just had to run and the ball was there. I just tried to secure the catch and get in field goal range and Gould was able to hit it.”

The 49ers allowed touchdowns on three of the Rams’ first five possessions, including back-to-back scores from running back Todd Gurley coming off his 20-yard performance last week in Dallas.

Garoppolo struggles throughout win

Offensively, the team hardly looked like the unit that scored 48 points against the Saints. Garoppolo was sacked six times. The team had two first downs in the first five series after halftime. But the offense ended with a touchdown and game-winning field goal on the last two possessions.

Garoppolo struggled throughout most of the game, finishing with 248 yards on 16 of 27 completions with two touchdowns. He had 143 yards in the fourth quarter.

“He was resilient,” Shanahan said. “It was third-and-16, not the best situation to be in. Usually you’re not feeling great in those situations. ... The game just for everyone, wasn’t perfect. Offense, defense, or special teams, play calling, the quarterback, protections. Everything was up and down throughout the whole thing.”

Rookie receiver Deebo Samuel scored his second rushing touchdown of the year thanks to Shanahan dipping into his playbook after the Rams made it a 14-3 game following Garoppolo’s second interception in his last five games. He threw his second pick on the first series of the second half.

The 49ers’ offense gave the team a much-needed jolt when running back Raheem Mostert made it a 21-17 game with a 16-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter, his fifth in as many games, becoming the fourth player in team history to accomplish that feat.

The play that may have zapped San Francisco out of its funk came late in the second quarter when linebacker Fred Warner intercepted Jared Goff on a pass in the flat to a running back. Warner stumbled and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown to give the 49ers a 24-21 lead just before halftime. It was the first pick and touchdown of Warner’s career.

Goff was up and down, looking both shoddy and brilliant at different stages. He finished 323 yards while completing just 27 of 46.

Win sets up showdown with Seahawks

The Rams re-took the lead, 28-24, with five minutes remaining in the third quarter when Goff found Cooper Kupp on a crossing route in man coverage against Ahkello Witherspoon for a 22-yard score.

Garoppolo found Kittle for the go-ahead touchdown on a scramble drill with 6:14 remaining set up by a 25-yard catch, and personal foul on the big hit, from backup tight end Ross Dwelley.

The Rams followed it up with a game-tying field goal from Greg Zuelein from 52 yards — after he missed from the same distance in the third quarter.

The game sets up next week’s regular season finale against Seattle that could clinch the NFC West title, the No. 1 seed in the NFC, home field advantage and a first-round bye.

But the focus after the game remained on morning for Beathard amid the loss of his younger brother, Clayton.

“If that (win) gives him any kind of solace, any kind of smile, or anything during this very tough time then that’s all we can do,” cornerback Richard Sherman said. “When he comes back we’ll be there for him, we’ll be in his corner. We’ll talk to him, we’ll stay with him and we’ll be there for him as much as you can, but there’s no way you can quantify by that. Football is a game. This is a game that kids play, it’s not that important. What he lost is something that’s irreplaceable. That’s his family.”

This story was originally published December 21, 2019 at 11:29 PM.