SF 49ers vs. Patriots: Why Jimmy Garoppolo must go off in Week 7

Jimmy Garoppolo makes his return to New England when the SF 49ers visit the Patriots in Week 7, and the Niners need a big game from him.

A year ago, the thought of the SF 49ers traveling to take on the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium would have brought storylines of two former quarterbacking teammates, Jimmy Garoppolo and Tom Brady, facing off against each other in a Star Wars-like storyline of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker going at it.

Brady’s free-agent departure to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last offseason quelled those thoughts, but Jimmy G still gets to square off against his former head coach, Bill Belichick, who didn’t hold back from some high praises of the quarterback in advance of this Week 7 contest between the Niners and Pats.

At 2-3, the Patriots’ first year in ages without Brady has been challenging. Quarterback Cam Newton has been notable enough an offseason addition for Belichick and Co., yet New England still boasts the league’s 25th-best scoring offense. Newton missing two games has influenced this, although his two touchdowns tossed against four interceptions this season suggests he isn’t a major part of the solution either.

Still, Garoppolo will need to be just as effective as he was in San Francisco’s Week 6 win over the Los Angeles rams, where he went 23-of-33 for 268 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 124.3.

And not just to keep the SF 49ers’ dimming playoff hopes alive.

Jimmy Garoppolo, SF 49ers still face a good Patriots defense

Belichick’s long-known speciality is taking away an opponent’s best offensive weapon. In this case, it’s tight end George Kittle.

Through five games, the Pats have struggled to defend against the pass, as their 7.3 yards allowed per attempt is tied for sixth worst up to this point in the season. But in traditional old-school New England fashion, Belichick’s defense has recalled a “bend, don’t break” M.O., as his team is averaging 22.0 points per game, which is tied for 11th best.

The Niners defense, meanwhile, is one spot ahead of the Patriots with 21.7 points surrendered per game.

This might suggest Garoppolo and the SF 49ers have little trouble moving the ball but have some difficulty in the red zone. But there’s another caveat making Garoppolo’s life a bit more challenging.

To date, the Patriots have a quarterback-pressure rating of 27.7 percent, which is fifth best in the league. While New England’s pass rush boasts a lowly eight sacks over five games (the SF 49ers have 10 over six contests), pressure is something that has hindered Jimmy G’s efforts this season, particularly in light of his high-ankle sprain suffered in Week 2 and subsequent on-field performance since his return.

Why Jimmy Garoppolo must go off vs. Patriots

Aside from keeping the Niners’ playoff hopes alive, Garoppolo is going to be under a pretty clear microscope.

If for no other reason than it’s going to be a case-study analysis on whether the now-famous 2017 trade for him by San Francisco from New England was worthwhile.

On the surface, at least for the SF 49ers, yes. Jimmy G helped propel head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad to the Super Bowl last season, and Garoppolo’s 3,978 pass yards in 2019 ranked fourth best in franchise history.

Yet Garoppolo still has his critics, and those in New England aren’t exactly singing his praises.

Case in point, this from NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry when considering the sheer possibility the SF 49ers move on from the quarterback and open up the door for his return to New England:

"Regardless of his history in New England, his recent track record would indicate the Patriots should be wary of rekindling their relationship with Garoppolo and paying him close to what he’s making now if he becomes available. He’ll be 29 next month. He’s missed nearly 40 percent of his team’s games over the last three seasons because of injury.If he were to return, he’d likely provide the Patriots more of a long-term plan at the position than what they have at the moment. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’d be a good one. Probably closer to average."

“Average” being used to describe Garoppolo is probably accurate in a lot of ways. Perhaps most Niners fans would toss Jimmy G into the “good” category, which is fair, too.

But Garoppolo still has some notable critics, and there won’t be another best-case scenario for him to reject the criticism, aside from winning a Super Bowl, than by going into New England and beating his former team and head coach.

That might put someone like Perry’s argument to rest, at least for a little while.

The SF 49ers and Pats kick off on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 4:25 p.m. ET from Gillette Stadium.