Here are five things to watch when the 49ers travel to play the Chargers in Los Angeles Week 4 in their first game since losing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a season-ending knee injury.
1. Beathard’s back as the starter, but is he better?
C.J. Beathard hardly looked promising during his five-game stint as the 49ers starter in 2017. His 55 percent completion rate and 69.2 passer rating both ranked 31st among 32 qualified quarterbacks.
But it was an unenviable position to insert a rookie quarterback into. San Francisco was in the earliest stages of its rebuilding project with a roster in flux.