The San Francisco 49ers' playoff hopes are gone. Just two games sit between now and the offseason. That isn't easy to hear for a team that represented the NFC in the Super Bowl just under 11 months ago.
How are the 49ers responding? They plan to have some fun.
With Nick Mullens done for the season due to an elbow injury and Jimmy Garoppolo not yet ready to return to the field, C.J. Beathard will start on Saturday against the Arizona Cardinals. It is Beathard's first start since 2018. How is he viewing this weekend's game? Is it an audition to remain on the roster? After all, Beathard is one of 40 49ers players scheduled to become free agents.
"I'm not really thinking of those terms," Beathard told reporters on Wednesday. "I'm just thinking in terms of we've got two games left here in the season. Obviously, our playoff hopes are dead now. So, I think it's an opportunity to go out there and have some fun, go out there and let it rip, and just have some fun.
"Don't think too much about the future because you never know what the future holds. So, I'm just really focused on just going out there and doing what I can do and having some fun."
San Francisco made Beathard a third-round pick out of Iowa in 2017. He has started 10 games for the 49ers, all coming during his first two seasons. The 27-year-old quarterback is 1-9 as a starter.
Beathard has appeared in four games this season, completing 62.2 percent of his passes for 332 yards with two touchdowns. That includes going 5-of-7 for 100 yards during Sunday's loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The quarterback even tossed a 49-yard Hail Mary pass into the end zone, which was hauled in by wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, in the game's closing seconds.
Beathard feels more comfortable with head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense, a stark difference from being thrown into the starting role as a rookie before giving way to Jimmy Garoppolo.
"I think a lot of that has to come with it being my fourth year in the system obviously," Beathard explained, "but just being more mature in a sense that I don't put so much pressure on myself knowing that I've got nothing to lose at this point. I'm going to go out and have some fun."
Right now, the 49ers find themselves in the role of potential spoiler. The Cardinals remain in the hunt for a playoff spot. The team's Week 17 opponent, the Seattle Seahawks, is holding onto a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West.
While the division could send three of its four teams into the playoffs, the defending NFC champions know they won't be among them.
"This team has nothing to lose at this point," Beathard added. "We're not going to make the playoffs. So, we've really got nothing to lose. We've got to go out there and leave it all on the field and just have some fun with it. And, you know, that's kind of been our motto the last week, is just go out there and have some fun. So, I'm excited for the opportunity."