Joe Staley: 13 best moments from 49ers tackle’s career

No. 8: There have been some intense games played over his career, but nothing will top this tic-tac-toe matchup against a fierce competitor.

Joe Staley has played it all: Super Bowls, Pro Bowls, rivalry games, walk-off winners and heartbreaking losses. But nothing could’ve prepared him for this three-round tic-tac-toe match against quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo:

https://twitter.com/49ers/status/1227762939597217792

Round 1 started as a “feel it out” game. It was an intense “cat” game but both players had a chance to see how the other would play in round two.

In the second round, Staley started bringing out the trash talk. Was it part of his strategy to throw Garoppolo off guard? Possibly. But you could feel Garoppolo didn’t want to lose this game. He was analyzing every possible combination of moves. Unfortunately, it ended with nobody taking the win.

The third and final round was where the fun truly reached its peak. Up until this point, each player used their defensive minds to block the other from getting three in a row. But it was a slip-up at the end by the quarterback, which allowed Staley to take home the victory.

There isn’t a better bromance in the 49ers locker room than Jimmy G and Joe Staley.