Things didn’t go as well for the 49ers against the Panthers on Sunday as they did against the Rams on the first Monday night of the season, but they aren’t going to respond by making a quarterback change.
Blaine Gabbert was 17-of-36 for 243 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the 46-27 loss with both interceptions coming after the 49ers had cut a 31-10 Panthers lead down to seven points in the fourth quarter. While that’s far less than ideal from the quarterback, coach Chip Kelly said that there was plenty of blame to go around on offense.
“He’s our starter. I’ve got a lot of confidence in Blaine,” Kelly said, via the Sacramento Bee. “We’re not thinking or talking about not having Blaine in there. It’s about everybody on offense playing better right now.”
The 49ers only ran for 65 yards and Kelly said the offensive line had a hard time with the front seven, lending support to Kelly’s belief that everyone needs to be on a better track for more success in the future. Kelly also said that Colin Kaepernick is not back to playing weight after having three surgeries this offseason, something that adds to the reasons why the 49ers will have Gabbert leading the offense in Seattle.