Forty-eight hours ago
White Casey Hayward Jerseys , no quarterback in NFL history had ever finished a game with more than 20 passes and a completion percentage higher than 95
percent. And then it happened again on Monday
night.Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers shattered the single-game completion
percentage record on Sunday, completing 28 of 29 passes, and then Titans
quarterback Marcus Mariota nearly broke that record on Monday, completing 22 of
23 passes after a late incompletion broke up a perfect game.The all-time record
book for highest completion percentage in a game now looks like this:96.6%
Philip Rivers, November 25, 201895.7%, Marcus Mariota, November 26, 201892.3%,
Kurt Warner, September 20
Casey Hayward Jerseys 2019 , 2009But it’s not just the single-game records that are falling. Completion percentages are up around the NFL. Saints quarterback
Drew Brees owns the record for the highest completion percentage in a season, a
record he set last year when he completed 72.0 percent of his passes. This year
Brees is likely to shatter his own record: Brees has completed 76.4 percent of
his passes this year.Passing offenses are playing so much better this year than
they ever have before that it’s hard to make comparisons to past years. The
league average completion rate this year is 65.3 percent, a number that would
have led the league in 1999, when MVP Kurt Warner was the league leader with a
65.1 percent completion rate. These are not your father’s NFL passing offenses.
The San Francisco 49ers are so banged up, they're not even sure which holes to
fill first.Three of San Francisco's five starting offensive linemen — left
tackle Joe Staley, center Weston Richburg and right tackle Mike McGlinchey —
suffered knee injuries during Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers that
leave them questionable for this weekend's game against the Arizona
Cardinals.The 49ers are also dealing with injuries to their receivers and
defensive backfield, and that's making it difficult for coach Kyle Shanahan and
the front office to figure out how to adjust the roster.For example, with
quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo having been lost in Week 3 to a torn ACL, the 49ers
would like to sign a free agent to provide insurance behind current starter C.J.
Beathard and backup Nick Mullens.But with the availability of so many players
unknown right now, Shanahan said the team has to stay flexible to see which
positions might need reinforcement."We've got a bunch of situations we're
looking into," Shanahan said. "Right now
White Travis Benjamin Jerseys , I'd love to answer the quarterback situation because you do want a third one in the building. But there a lot of things that
are taking precedent right now."Rookie receiver Dante Pettis, San Francisco's
main punt returner, injured his left knee against the Chargers and has been
ruled out for this Sunday. Fellow receiver Marquise Goodwin, who starts opposite
Pierre Garcon, is questionable with quadriceps and hamstring issues.A bit of
good news: Strong safety Jaquiski Tartt, who has missed the past two games with
a shoulder injury, is expected back against Arizona. But the status of free
safety Adrian Colbert, hampered by a hip contusion, remains unknown.The 49ers
also are missing their leader in the secondary, veteran cornerback Richard
Sherman, who is likely to miss his second game in a row with a strained left
calf.But the most pressing concern has to be the offensive line.The 34-year-old
Staley
Travis Benjamin Jerseys 2019 , a five-time Pro Bowler, left Sunday's game in the second quarter and didn't return. He was replaced by Garry
Gilliam.Richburg and McGlinchey both returned to the game, eventually, after
getting hurt, but they're still hobbled.Keeping Beathard healthy is a priority
considering the 49ers have already lost Garoppolo. In his first start of the
season Sunday, Beathard generally completed 23 of 37 passes for 298 yards, two
touchdowns and two interceptions.But the second-year quarterback took several
big hits from the Chargers' defense, some of them plays on which he could have
unloaded the ball or slid in the open field to avoid contact."We want him to
stay healthy and we're gonna do everything we can to coach him to do that,"
Shanahan said. "I know C.J.'s gonna work at it too. There's times he's gotta get
down and give up on a play."But it's gonna be hard for me to go too hard on him
when it's third-and-5 and the game's on the line. Most quarterbacks are going to
attempt (to gain yards) in that situation."
