San Francisco 49ers T-Shirt , I had absolutely no expectations for second-year quarterback Nick Mullens, making his first-ever start on a short week.The 49ers were sitting at 1-7, but never did I imagine that a change in quarterback would be the answer to fixing a lot of San Francisco’s problems. Yet with every drive, it seemed like fans started to gain confidence in Mullens’ ability.Mullens and the 49ers’ offense opened with back-to-back touchdown drives that spanned 75 and 66 yards, respectively and then closed out the half with a 59-yard, 1:38 drive for a field goal. Kyle Shanahan’s group opened the second half with a four-play, 75-yard touchdown drive and then a three-play, 68-yard drive that put the 49ers up 31-3 and effectively sealed the game. In his debut, Mullens was highly efficient, finishing 16-of-22 for 262 yards, with three touchdown passes, no interceptions and a near-perfect passer rating of 151.9. The 49ers’ receivers were an integral part of Mullens’ success (as was an atrocious Raiders defense), as the second-year player did not attempt a single throw into a tight window, per NFL’s Next Gen Stats. Let’s take a look at certain plays from Mullens’ debut that highlights his strengths, while showing some areas for improvement as he’s slated to make his second start against the Giants. After playing on Thursday Night Football for his first game, Mullens is going to get another national showcase on ESPN’s Monday Night Football this upcoming week.On the 49ers’ very first offensive play, Mullens is able to find wideout Marquise Goodwin for an 11-yard gain. This is just beautiful pre-snap recognition, as the Raiders match up linebacker Tahir Whitehead on San Francisco’s quickest player with a free release. Mullens can trust that Goodwin is going to get open immediately and make a quick throw. Running back Matt Breida clears out the area by running deep, giving way for an easy first completion underneath.Again San Francisco 49ers Hats , another successful completion that’s a result of smart pre-snap recognition. Mullens motions running back Raheem Mostert from the backfield to the outside. As the Raiders’ linebacker follows Mostert, Mullens recognizes that Oakland’s in man coverage. The best matchup in this case was fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who is going to beat linebacker Marquel Lee every play. Now on 3rd-and-3, Mullens recognizes that the Raiders’ defensive back is playing seven yards off of wideout Pierre Gar莽on, which means that a comeback route should allow for a wide-open first down completion. While the throw seemed a tad bit late, Gar莽on was still able to make the play for a first down.On this play, the Raiders decide to play zone defense, which means that Gar莽on is able to find the soft spot in between the safety and the linebacker, giving Mullens a chance to hit him for a large gain. The 49ers’ offensive line does a good job giving the offense some time for the routes to develop and Mullens comes up with a perfect throw for a 25-yard gain. Here’s one of Mullens’ poorer throws of the evening, as he rushes his throw due to inside pressure. The 49ers’ quarterback doesn’t see the Oakland defender undercut the route and almost intercept this pass. Nine times out of ten this pass gets intercepted, but luckily for Mullens, it was just incomplete. Especially in the red zone, where the field shrinks, it’s better for the young quarterback to throw the ball away, rather than try to cram the pass into a tight window.Another poor throw that’s probably representative of Mullens’ arm strength. In this play, Gar莽on is going to run a out route, where he expects the ball to be delivered right after he reaches the top of the route. Instead, the throw is a bit slow and late, allowing the Raiders’ defensive back to deflect the pass away.More pre-snap magic from the 49ers’ second-year quarterback. As wideout Richie James motions across the formation San Francisco 49ers Hoodie , the Raiders’ defender follows, signaling man coverage across the board. There’s a slot corner blitz off the top, meaning Mullens’ should get rid of the ball quickly. James does a fantastic job in earning a free release and getting open across the middle of the field, allowing Mullens to hit him in stride for a 53-yard gain. (Underrated part of this clip is Goodwin celebrating as soon as James caught the pass.)Here’s Mullens’ best throw of the evening — in between four defenders. If you freeze the video four seconds in, you’ll see four Raiders’ defenders forming a square around tight end George Kittle, yet the second-year tight end makes the grab and turns it into a 71-yard gain. I don’t know what’s more amazing about this play — Mullens’ ability to fit the ball into that window of Kittle’s one-handed grab and run.For an un-drafted free agent making his first start, this was really impressive, even if it was against one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Mullens was able to take advantage of his pre-snap reads, make quick decisions and get the ball out. The 49ers’ offensive line didn’t give up a single sack and a lot of that was Mullens not letting the pressure get too close. Next up is a Giants’ defense that’s middle of the pack, but should be better than what Mullens saw on Thursday. It’s going to be a tougher test, but with an extra few days of preparation and a home crowd behind him, I expect to see a similar performance from “BDN” on Monday. Your wide receiver corps has been battling some level of injury with WR Pierre Gar莽on and WR Trent Taylor and obviously WR Dante Pettis and WR Marquise Goodwin. How hard has that been just not always having guys at practice, having guys at other positions? How much has that affected their lack of production?“It definitely makes it a little bit tougher just not having the same guys getting the same reps every week. It’s nice to have a routine, same guys in there. Obviously, it would help to have everyone healthy as it would at any position, but that’s part of football and you’ve just got to go with the guys that you have in there and trust in them.” What do you do at practice? I don’t know if anything’s different this week, but what do you do at practice generally to focus on holding onto the ball and not turning it over?“Nothing really any different than what we do. I think a lot of stuff goes into that. We do what we do in practice, focus on trying to take care of the ball and watching film and seeing their tendencies and which players are good at getting their hands up and reaching for balls and kind of having that in the back of your mind.” Obviously, the defense has struggled getting the ball as well. On the practice field Cheap Customized San Francisco 49ers Jerseys , have you noticed any increase in tenacity on their part, trying to rip the ball out or trying to pick you off more?“Definitely. We’ve put an emphasis on it. [Head coach] Kyle’s [Shanahan] put an emphasis on it. You can definitely see it out at practice, guys going for the ball and trying to punch balls out.” So, it kind of works both ways?“Yeah, obviously it does, but I’m not necessarily going against our number one defense in practice all of the time. We go against them for some reps, but not all of the time.” Last time you guys played Arizona, Arizona Cardinals OLB Chandler Jones obviously was getting back there. Are you more aware of him now?“Definitely. Definitely more aware of him and know his range and his length and the kind of player he is. Definitely more aware of him.” Have you noticed a different sort of feeling whether it’s in the huddle or the locker room, when you play on the road, just in terms of the urgency you have or how you react to the atmosphere away from this place?“I don’t really notice anything different. We go out there with the same mindset every game and try to win whether it’s home or away.” What is it about TE George Kittle that makes it easy for you guys to connect on the field so much more?“I think he’s just a good route runner. He’s talented, he’s athletic so he can turn little plays into big ones. Obviously, we’ve had chemistry going back to college so I can kind of read him and know what he’s doing pretty easily. But, he’s just a really talented athlete and player and he’s doing really well.” Is that history with you, obviously that’s part of it, but do you feel like you’re building that more with your other receivers? I know it’s been hard because you had less consistency with who’s been out there?“Definitely the more reps you get with guys, the better you feel with them, the more consistent you feel with them. It’s tough sometimes when those guys aren’t practicing or not getting the reps and they’re out a week here or there. But, like I said before, it’s part of football. You’ve got to go with the guys you’ve got and I’ve got all of the faith in those guys and that’s how it is.” In terms of your turnovers Nick Mullens Jersey , do you feel you need to alter your game to be more cautious or do you need to keep doing what you’re doing and the luck will come?“I feel like a lot of them are just unfortunate plays. There’s a couple that are bad decisions. Green Bay, I wish I would have put the ball out more. But, a lot of them aren’t bad reads, they’re just unfortunate plays. But, obviously I’m going to work on taking care of the ball better, whether it be in the pocket or throwing the ball.” You talked about Marquise and his speed and how that kind of keeps a defense honest. Do you see Dante Pettis and his return something similar?“Definitely. Dante’s a big-time guy to have back for us. He poses threats whether it be his speed or route running. He’s got good hands. So, it’s nice to have another good receiver thrown in the mix, a guy that we haven’t had for however long it’s been. It’ll be nice to get him back out there practicing today.” When you’re watching the Cardinals film, did Arizona Cardinals CB Patrick Peterson jump out at all on tape as a quarterback?“Yeah, he’s just one of the best corners in the game. He’s a guy that you’ve got to be aware of when he’s out there, where he’s at. He’s got a lot of experience so he knows quarterbacks’ tendencies whether it be quick-game feet, five-step feet, good with eyes. He’s seen it all. So, he’s a veteran player at that and he’s just a good player.” He announced that he no longer wants to be traded so he’s going to play for them Sunday.“I figured he would. I wasn’t thinking anything else.”