No. 3: Jimmy Garoppolo hits SF 49ers wide receiver Kendrick Bourne for 25 yards
It was tempting to put Jimmy Garoppolo scrambling as one of his top-three plays of the night. But considering Jimmy G might want to save his ankle from further damage, it just misses the list.
Instead, let’s look back to a bigger play (or perhaps a series of plays) that was essential in getting the SF 49ers up to 21 points before halftime.
Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne had some forgettable moments, including a couple of key drops at crucial moments later in the game. But as an over-the-middle threat, Bourne has often been an unsung hero, and few who watched last year’s Week 16 game between the Niners and Rams will quickly forget Bourne’s first-down conversion catch on a long 3rd-and-16 down the middle.
Thankfully, Bourne had two significant gains of this type on this particular drive late in the second quarter.
On a 2nd-and-18 play from the Niners 30-yard line, Garoppolo hit Bourne cutting in against Rams safety John Johnson III for what turned into a 19-yard gain, getting the first down and moving the ball to midfield.
Impressive as that was, Garoppolo’s next pass to Bourne was even better, putting a nice touch on a pass from San Francisco’s 49-yard line into the window where Bourne was near three Rams defenders.
True, most of Garoppolo’s throws on the night were the proverbial “dink and dunk” variety. But on back-to-back plays, Garoppolo had intended air yards of 14 and 19 yards, respectively, showing he wasn’t afraid to move the ball straight down the field.