Top 5 takeaways from 49ers Week 14 win vs. Saints
By Elvis Jerez
No. 2: Jimmy Garoppolo is a baller
One of my critiques of 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the preseason and early into the regular season was he needed to get comfortable and show confidence. I wanted desperately to see the Garoppolo version from 2017.
Throughout the year, he showed flashes of that. Granted, early on, the star-studded defense and backfield afforded Garoppolo the luxury of time. Time to heal the mental part of the game and time to develop trust in his squad. Even for elite athletes, the mental part of the game can be tougher than the physical part.
Referring to Garoppolo as merely a “game manager” is absurd, but anointing him the next Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady might be a bit premature, so the truth for now is somewhere in between.
On Sunday at the Superdome, Garoppolo left no doubt about his acumen as an elite-level quarterback. This is the Jimmy G we’d all been waiting for.
Per NextGen Stats, Garoppolo completed 26 of 35 passes for four touchdowns and one interception with a passer rating of 133.71. That’s elite. And when his team needed him most, he delivered. There is no reason to believe this was a one-time fluke, and it looks like Garoppolo himself is beginning to believe it as well.