One week ago to the day, Nick Mullens shinned on Thursday Night Football when the San Fransisco 49ers shut down the Oakland Raiders 34 to 3 in the “Battle Of The Bay.” Mullens, who was an un-drafted free agent from Southern Miss. University in 2017, was called up to replace the injured C.J. Beathard only a day before the matchup against the Raiders. With little time to prepare in his first NFL start most people would think that a rookie quarterback would not be able to succeed against a pro defense.

But not only did Mullens succeed against the Oakland Raiders, he absolutely demolished them. By the end of the game Mullens had a 151.9 passer rating, throwing for over 260 yards on 16-22 completions and three touchdowns, something that only a few people have done in their debut in the history of the NFL.

Mullen’s passer rating was the highest of any quarterback starting in their debut since 1970 beating out future Hall of Fame quarterbacks such as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees. According to ESPN Reporter Nick Wagoner, Mullens joined Fran Tarkenton (1961) and Jim Kelly (1986) as the only quarterbacks to throw for 250-plus yards, three-plus touchdowns and no interceptions in an NFL debut since 1950. Both quarterbacks are Hall of Famers.

But with the game over and the hype now subsided, is Mullens the future quarterback of the San Fransisco 49ers? The answer, is yes, at least for the short run. With Beathard giving dismal performance after dismal performance all eyes are now pointed on Mullens leading the team for the rest of the year. If Mullens can keep up this type of play for the rest of the season, the 49ers just may have to consider keeping him at starting quarterback even with newly signed quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo coming back next year from his ACL tear.

 

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25151421/nick-mullens-puts-historic-numbers-nfl-debut-49ers-cruise