49ers Jimmy Garoppolo can use doubt to fuel his 2020 campaign

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo didn’t finish his 2019 campaign the way he would have liked, having come up short in Super Bowl LIV. Amid the doubt, though, he can bounce back strong in 2020 and use the criticism for motivation.

If San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo completed that long fourth-quarter pass to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in Super Bowl LIV, which likely would have resulted in a go-ahead touchdown against the eventual game-winning Kansas City Chiefs, the narrative surrounding the signal-caller’s offseason would have been entirely different.

Garoppolo would have had his signature moment, the kind Hall of Famer Joe Montana enjoyed back when he engineered “The Drive” in Super Bowl XXIII.

Instead, Garoppolo’s overthrow became the final focus point en route to an offseason filled with criticisms and doubts about his ability to be a truly elite franchise quarterback. Never mind the fact Garoppolo’s 69.1 regular-season completion percentage ranked fourth best among qualifiers. Forget his 102.0 regular-season passer rating, which was only 3.3 points lower than the Super Bowl MVP, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

And forget about Garoppolo’s four fourth-quarter comebacks, which were tied for most in the league last year.

Instead, narratives like Garoppolo living “down to his expectations” flooded the media waves after the big game.

True, the best quarterbacks come up big in moments where it matters most. Garoppolo failed to do that. And until he rectifies that situation — who knows if San Francisco has the same shot this year — the conversation will still center around what happened in one quarter of the Super Bowl.

Good.

Garoppolo’s personality isn’t necessarily one like, let’s say, cornerback Richard Sherman. The quarterback doesn’t appear to have a proverbial “chip on his shoulder,” as his postgame pressers and conferences are both calm and collective following either a victory or defeat.

Take this after the Niners’ 3-0 start to begin 2019:

Still, the competitive nature is something Garoppolo can grasp this offseason and into next year. It’s important to remember he has just 26 regular-season starts under his belt, five fewer than Mahomes.

It’ll be important for Garoppolo to capitalize on it all, understanding a defeat and the subsequent criticism can either be detrimental or beneficial.

For general manager John Lynch, it’s the latter.

“He’s our guy,” Lynch said from the 2020 NFL Combine. “As I said, from the day he walked into our building, he made us better and we continue to feel that’s the case. That’s the most exciting thing about him is the room for growth. He’s not come close to hitting his ceiling.”

Good players utilize the doubt to their advantage. It’s Garoppolo’s turn to capitalize on it, pairing that with Lynch’s comments about the quarterback still ascending.

Are there going to be obstacles in the way? Absolutely. The 49ers are no longer a team in rebuilding mode and on the rise. They’re still legitimate Super Bowl contenders, meaning the rest of the league will make note when they see the Niners on the schedule.

Good quarterbacks take advantage of those situations, too. For Garoppolo, the best way to climb above the doubts and criticisms will be to use them to his own advantage over his upcoming “prove them all wrong” tour of 2020.