SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard spent the bye week watching his Iowa Hawkeyes take on Purdue and healing his injured thumb. What he didn't do with that time off was waste time wondering whether coach Kyle Shanahan was going to bench him in favor of Jimmy Garoppolo.

"I didn't think about that at all," Beathard said. "It was nice to get a break, clear my head. I got back to Iowa, got to watch a game as a fan and some games as a fan over the weekend. It was fun."

Upon returning to the Bay Area to begin preparation for Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks, Beathard received more good news: he's going to continue as the starter for at least another week. Of course, that's not something coach Kyle Shanahan felt the need to announce to Beathard considering it's been standard procedure for more than a month.

"I wasn't surprised," Beathard said. "I was just going about my business like normal. Same way I've been doing. I trust the coaches' decision, whatever they decide to do."

Beathard's ability to stay focused on his job as the starter rather than worrying about being replaced has played a huge part in his hanging on to the role in the first place.

To be sure, when Garoppolo will make his Niners debut is easily the most intriguing question surrounding the team right now. Beathard has avoided falling into that trap, a big reason he was able to throw for 288 yards and two touchdowns and run for another in leading the Niners to their first win of the season against the New York Giants.

That breakthrough performance -- even against a struggling Giants team -- helped Beathard keep his job.

"C.J. did play his best football last week, which definitely, to me, made the decision easier," Shanahan said. "It wasn't just C.J., but the offense around him, everyone together. I thought that those group of 11 guys, when they were out there, they had their best game. And that was important for C.J. It was also important for our team.

"I did go into the weekend and all week and into Monday considering Jimmy. But, definitely, the way that game went, I knew it was going to make it easier for me to stick with what we've been doing because I think we made a stride in that way and I don't think it’s totally right for Jimmy, C.J., the entire team or organization just to change that right away."

The addition of Garoppolo undoubtedly altered Beathard's role for the long term, but it hasn't prevented him from making the case that he should play a prominent part in the team's future plans. In an ideal world, that probably means becoming a solid backup to Garoppolo and giving the Niners some level of comfort at the position. And if Beathard continues to play well, perhaps he could develop into an asset another team might covet.

For now, the Niners' focus is on continuing to build off of what Beathard and the offense were able to do against the Giants. That task is made much more difficult this week against the Seahawks. Although Seattle is missing key players such as cornerback Richard Sherman, safety Kam Chancellor and defensive lineman Cliff Avril, it remains one of the league's stingiest defenses.

As he approaches his fifth straight start, Beathard says things have begun to slow down for him, making it easier to call plays, picture them in his head and run them consistently. As Garoppolo attempts to catch up on his understanding of the playbook, Beathard's increased comfort allows Shanahan to continue expanding what they can ask of the rookie signal-caller.

"We've had C.J. in there for some time, he's getting more used to it and I'm getting more used to him," Shanahan said. "The players are getting more used to being around him. It's been nice to add a few things each week for him and see some of his different skill sets that has been different from the past."

That's something that can only come with the valuable repetitions Beathard continues to get weekly.

"Being a rookie in an NFL offense the first year starting, the more you play the more your playbook expands a little bit and the more things you can do," Beathard said. "This will be my fifth start and I think I can handle a little bit more week in and week out. I think coach knows that as well."

With that increased responsibility comes even larger expectations. Now that Beathard has played well in a win, the next step is stringing together strong performances. With an increasingly healthy supporting cast around him and Shanahan's continued faith, it's Beathard's chance to remind the NFL that he was a third-round pick for a reason and that he also has a bright future, even if he eventually cedes the starting job.

"There's definitely a sense like that," Beathard said. "I think sometimes people forget at the end of the day I'm still a rookie. I'm going out there and doing the best I can every day and getting better. There's going to be mistakes. There's going to be things I learn from, as is any player or any rookie out there. I think that each week I've gotten better, at least I feel better about the offense and things I've learned from games and experiences."