Tom Brady did something Jimmy Garoppolo and the SF 49ers couldn’t do: beat the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. And that provides some lessons.
Just over a year ago, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and the SF 49ers watched as the Kansas City Chiefs stormed back from a 10-point deficit to deliver the Niners one of the most heartbreaking defeats in San Francisco history in Super Bowl LIV.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who was mostly held in check that game for three quarters, received game MVP accolades and outclassed Garoppolo when it mattered most: the fourth quarter.
A year later, it was Mahomes’ turn to be outclassed by Garoppolo’s former senior with the New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, who reclaimed game MVP honors at 43 years old after his seventh Super Bowl championship in the Bucs’ 31-9.
In some ways, Brady and the Buccaneers defeating Mahomes and the Chiefs was vindication for SF 49ers fans for what happened the year before. It was refreshing to see Kansas City called for holding penalties that weren’t called the previous Super Bowl, and all the smack talk from the Chiefs fanbase directed at Niners fans last year surely died down.
But Brady didn’t just teach a GOAT-like lesson to Mahomes. He taught one to Garoppolo, too. Remember, Brady didn’t take too kindly to Garoppolo back when they were both with New England. And in some regards, Brady’s win over the Chiefs was another “let me show you how it’s done” directed at both Mahomes and potentially even Garoppolo, too.
Garoppolo’s future in San Francisco remains uncertain. But regardless of that, Garoppolo would be more than wise to learn some of those lessons Brady showcased on the biggest of stages.
No. 3: Jimmy G must be a true SF 49ers ‘leader’
Tom Brady holds his teammates to an awfully high standard. While the atmosphere in Tampa Bay was awfully different from the businesslike model he experienced in New England, Brady still brought that intensity and focus with him to the Buccaneers. As a result, the entire culture changed, and the Bucs went from perennial underachievers to Super Bowl champions.
SF 49ers players don’t shy away from backing Jimmy Garoppolo at all. Tight end George Kittle is one of Jimmy G’s most vocal supporters, yes.
But a recent Niner Noise podcast with The Athletic’s Matt Barrows pointed out something interesting. Barrows noted how Garoppolo fits in as “one of the guys” but doesn’t necessarily stand out as the leader in the locker room. Granted, Barrows admitted Hall of Famer Joe Montana was also in this kind of category, yet Montana delivered in those clutch Super Bowl moments.
Garoppolo hasn’t. At least not yet.
This doesn’t necessarily mean Garoppolo has to get in his players’ faces when they run a wrong route or drop a pass. But it does mean he can hold them to a higher standard, both on the field and during practices.
Those efforts over the course of offseason programs, training camp and the regular season carry enormous weight towards reaching a Super Bowl.
No. 2: Jimmy G must develop that killer instinct
Late in Super Bowl LV with the Buccaneers still up big, Tom Brady wasn’t hesitating to use his arm to go for the proverbial “kill shot.” Brady’s third touchdown of the game, following the Bucs defense doing everything it needed against Patrick Mahomes, was the dagger.
And even afterward, Brady was not going to let the Chiefs do what they did to the SF 49ers the year before. To use NBA terminology, it was almost the “Mamba Mentality” of the late great, Kobe Bryant, on how he’d take over games late when the outcome was still in doubt.
Brady, too, did this against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game despite tossing three interceptions. Those kill shots were still there, and the Packers were sent packing as a result.
Jimmy Garoppolo has flashed hints of being able to do this. Those memorable 3rd-and-16 completions on the same drive in Week 16 against the LA Rams back in 2019 come to mind. But the Niners will need Jimmy G to develop that playoff-atmosphere kill-shot mentality.
As fans may painfully recall, Garoppolo and the San Francisco offense had the opportunity to engineer killer-instinct moments in the latter half of Super Bowl LIV just over a year ago, only to watch as those moments dissipated and the Chiefs staged their comeback.
No. 1: Bouncing back is essential
When 2019 was wrapped up, critics and skeptics around the NFL world thought Tom Brady was finally hitting the last stages of his Hall of Fame career. He was washed up, no longer enjoying the game and his arm strength simply wasn’t there. Brady’s trip to Tampa Bay was merely going to be one of those odd moments where a star athlete basks in name recognition only at the end of his career, nothing more.
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Well, so much for that.
Jimmy Garoppolo isn’t necessarily in that boat. Not at 29 years old. But like Brady a year ago, there’s no shortage of questions surrounding Garoppolo’s future and whether or not he can lead a team to a championship.
Perhaps he can’t. But that’s the underlying point.
Surely, Brady used all the offseason talk from a year ago as motivation to prove his doubters wrong. Garoppolo, too, can use all that’s been said about him throughout NFL circles to get back to the kind of level many thought he’d reach. This applies to his health as well, as Brady has also dealt with serious injuries before (see 2008 into 2009), which have called into question Jimmy G’s own durability.
If Garoppolo can take a page out of Brady’s book, learning to respond to the doubt and criticism on the field will be an excellent lesson he can learn heading into 2021 and beyond.