Jimmy Garoppolo quieted doubters in 49ers’ Week 6 win vs. Rams

The 49ers needed Jimmy Garoppolo to bounce back in Week 6 against the Rams, and he did as his three-touchdown effort secured the 24-16 win.

Maybe the San Francisco 49ers don’t need to run Jimmy Garoppolo out of town sooner than later after all.

A week after Jimmy G was benched at halftime during the ugly Week 5 loss to the Miami Dolphins, Garoppolo’s comeback despite dealing with a high-ankle sprain was awfully exceptional on Sunday Night Football against the Los Angeles Rams, who entered the contest with the No. 4-ranked scoring defense in the league.

The end result? A 24-16 Week 6 win in front of a national audience.

Garoppolo outdueled Rams quarterback Jared Goff and then some, particularly by putting up three touchdowns in the first half to help the Niners get out to a 21-6 lead by halftime. While it was still clear Garoppolo was hobbled a bit by his ankle injury, head coach Kyle Shanahan made sure to make the quarterback’s life much easier by engineering short-area passes and getting the ball out of his hands as quickly as possible, something NextGen Stats pointed out after the game:

Considering the Rams were tied for the NFL lead in sacks (20) entering Week 6, and All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald was looming, this was awfully important.

“That always helps the quarterback, too, when you’re able to move down the field and have some run plays that count as pass plays that get you into a little bit of a rhythm, and I think it helped,” Shanahan told reporters after the game.

And while many of Jimmy Garoppolo’s early throws were either at the line of scrimmage, mere yards in front of it or often behind it, it was clear the approach worked.

Garoppolo wasn’t sacked at all during the game and took only one quarterback hit.

Needless to say, a lot of credit had to go to San Francisco’s offensive line. This unit faced a tall task after being ranked by Football Outsiders as the No. 29 pass-blocking unit entering Week 6. Shutting down Donald wasn’t going to be an easy task, and it was essential in protecting Garoppolo.

He was thankful of his line’s efforts.

“I thought the O-line as a whole did a phenomenal job,” Garoppolo added. “It started in the run game, and then in the pass game. The pockets were clean all night. There were a couple third downs where I held the ball a little extra long, and the coverage was good. But [the Rams] didn’t get near me.”

Jimmy Garoppolo connects with George Kittle for a 44-yard touchdown

One of the key moments in the game came when the 49ers faced a 4th-and-2 play in the second quarter and only leading 7-0.

Garoppolo held onto the ball as long as he could, facing a Rams blitz that left tight end George Kittle in one-on-one coverage down the middle of the field. Jimmy G delivered a perfectly thrown pass to his tight end, who shook through Los Angeles’ defense en route to a 44-yard touchdown:

Even when Jimmy Garoppolo was being asked to primarily throw short-area passes, he was still capable of making the big throw in the face of pressure.

True, Garoppolo’s night wasn’t entirely perfect. He overthrew a wide-open fullback, Kyle Juszczyk, on what would have been a huge pickup in the second half. And a red-zone throw intended for slot receiver Trent Taylor was nearly intercepted at the goal line.

Still, Jimmy G going 23-of-33 for 268 yards with three touchdowns against zero interceptions was easily the mark of a pretty good night, plainly put.

Granted, Jimmy Garoppolo still has a lot of work to quell what’s been nearly a yearlong discussion whether or not he’s the long-term answer in San Francisco.

But Sunday night’s performance surely helped point him in the right direction.