It had been 790 days between starts for San Francisco 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard going into Saturday's game against the Arizona Cardinals. In between, Beathard endured a lifetime's worth of grief.
Earlier this week, Beathard observed the one-year anniversary of the death of his younger brother, Clayton, who was stabbed to death outside of a bar in Nashville, Tennessee, on Dec. 21, 2019. On the same day as that painful anniversary, Beathard got word that he'd be starting against the Cardinals.
On Saturday, Beathard, buoyed by a stifling defense and a career performance by running back Jeff Wilson Jr.