SF 49ers: 5 causes behind Niners 2020 playoff elimination
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: SF 49ers not having Jimmy Garoppolo available
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo might not be the right or best fit for Kyle Shanahan’s offense, and that’s a discussion for another time.
But there’s little questioning Garoppolo being the best signal-caller on the Niners roster as things stand now.
Garoppolo, of course, suffered a high-ankle sprain back in that injury-plagued Week 2 game against the NY Jets, returned three weeks later only to suffer another ankle injury in Week 8 against the Seattle Seahawks.
He hasn’t played since and has appeared in only six games this season with the strong likelihood he won’t come back for the rest of 2020.
It’s pretty evident Shanahan succeeds when Garoppolo is under center even if the quarterback isn’t anything close to elite-level status. While quarterback/team wins are generally silly as a tell-all, the end results do speak measures: Shanahan is 22-8 in regular-season games where Garoppolo started.
In the other combinations of quarterbacks Brian Hoyer, C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens, Shanahan and the SF 49ers have gone 6-26.
Garoppolo’s availability is both a blessing and a curse. When he’s been on the field, San Francisco’s .733 winning percentage speaks for itself. But the fact he hasn’t been on the field for the better part of two of the last three seasons suggests changes could be coming.