Niner Noise
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3 49ers players who need to improve in Week 7 vs. Redskins

By Jeremy Wohlfart

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 13: Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers looks to pass in the second half against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 13, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 13: Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers looks to pass in the second half against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 13, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 13: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers spikes the ball after a touchdown at the start of the third quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 13, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 13: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers spikes the ball after a touchdown at the start of the third quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 13, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) /

No.1: Jimmy Garoppolo

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been good. He’s not going to convince many doubters with raw stats and his turnovers can be eyebrow raising, but he’s been more than acceptable given he’s coming off an ACL tear.

More importantly, he’s winning. Thirteen wins off 15 starts.

We’ve seen many quarterbacks have flashier stats and still lose. Better to have a winner than a fantasy football guru (I’m looking at you, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan).

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Garoppolo has been able to lean on a varied group of running backs and a top defense for most of the year. He didn’t need to do much because the 49ers were just fine punching defenses in the mouth and then getting the ball back to do it all again.

However the two times he had to come through for the team, he did. He led a game-winning drive against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3, and he carried the offense against a Los Angeles Rams defense that sold out to stop the run. When you consider all the points left on the field that could have put the 49ers to roughly a 20 point win, he did very well.

It’s time to put all his strengths together and have a day out against Washington.

This matchup may favor Garoppolo doing something similar to the Redskins that he did against the Rams. The Redskins have had some success stopping the run this year, and the 49ers will still be improvising a running attack that’s missing key blockers in tackles Joe Staley, Mike McGlinchey and fullback Kyle Juszczyk.

Avoid bad interceptions and hit the targets in the end zone. It’s all Garoppolo has to do to have that big game people want to see. He doesn’t need to air it out, just play his normal game and iron out those mistake.

The Redskins aren’t the most impressive team to do it to, but a big game is a big game regardless.