The San Francisco 49ers’ hopes in 2018 are all but thwarted now after what looks to be a season-ending knee injury to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 3. What now for the Niners?
San Francisco 49ers fans’ worst fears for 2018 appeared to come true during the waning minutes of the team’s eventual 38-27 Week 3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Why? Well, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo might be done for the season.
Garoppolo was scrambling along the sidelines late in the fourth quarter when he was hit nearly out of bounds by Chiefs cornerback Steven Nelson. Garoppolo went down awkwardly and required immediate attention before being tended to in the blue medical tent. Afterwards, he was carted off the field, and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the Niners feared it was a torn ACL.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan later confirmed this was the fear in his postgame presser, which you can see below:
Kyle Shanahan Postgame Updates
“I feel for him personally. I know how disappointed he is… but I feel for him.”Kyle Shanahan provides injury updates on QB Jimmy Garoppolo following Week 3 loss in Kansas City.
Posted by San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, September 23, 2018
Forget the score of the game. The Niners had little chance to match up against quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ red-hot offense in their own building Sunday.
The real problem is San Francisco’s prospects for a playoff push in 2018 have evaporated.
Garoppolo’s injury now opens up the door for second-year quarterback C.J. Beathard to reassume starting duties after being thrown into the role amid a struggling squad last season. In fairness to Beathard, he managed to deliver what appeared to be a perfectly thrown pass to tight end George Kittle that would have been a touchdown.
Only to be called off for a pushoff penalty by 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk — about as ticky-tack as it gets.
But the drop off from Garoppolo to Beathard is significant. Garoppolo’s 2017 efforts, which ultimately culminated in the Niners’ five-game win streak to close out the year, stood in stark contrast from the 69.2 passer rating (ranked 31st out of 32 qualifiers last season) Beathard posted in seven appearances.
And while Beathard has a full year’s experience under his belt, and the team is arguably better at this point than 2017, it’s a tall order to suggest San Francisco’s backup quarterback can pull off anything close to what the Philadelphia Eagles’ Nick Foles did in relief for starting quarterback Carson Wentz last season.
It would be one thing if the Niners had a dominant defense, but they don’t. Coordinator Robert Saleh’s unit already allowed 770 yards coming into Week 3, which ranked 23rd in the league. Tack on another 384, albeit against an explosive Chiefs offense, and that ranking won’t improve much at all.
Simply put, the 49ers defense can’t carry the team. And there simply aren’t enough offensive weapons to suggest the Niners can find a way into January football either.
And while all of this might sound a bit too “doom and gloom,” it’s the reality of the situation. 2018 has now turned into one more year for the rebuild instead of what was looking like the opening of a Super Bowl window.