Jimmy Garoppolo: 5 best games from 49ers quarterback
By Peter Panacy
Niner Noise looks back at Jimmy Garoppolo and his five best games with the 49ers since joining the team midway through 2017.
The San Francisco 49ers may not be pegging quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo as someone they want to hang around well into the distant future.
At least not after trading up to the No. 3 overall spot in this year’s NFL Draft to select his apparent replacement, Trey Lance.
There are, perhaps, two reasons that describe this. First, undoubtedly, the injuries. Garoppolo missed all but three games back in 2018 after suffering an ACL tear, then multiple ankle injuries forced him out of all but six contests in 2020. On top of that, if Garoppolo was much more effective as a quarterback and capable of shouldering the offense with regularity, it’s likely the Niners would have been reluctant to go up and get Lance despite Jimmy G’s injuries anyway.
All that said, however, Garoppolo has put together a number of memorable performances during his San Francisco tenure, including these five best games.
No. 5: Jimmy Garoppolo beats LA Rams in Week 16 thriller in 2019
From a purely statistical vantage point, Garoppolo’s efforts late during the 2019 season on a Saturday Night Football bout against the Los Angeles Rams weren’t great.
He went 16-of-27 for 248 yards, a touchdown against two interceptions with a passer rating of 71.2 while taking six sacks. Just looking at the numbers, one could actually make the argument this was one of Garoppolo’s worst games with the 49ers, too.
But with the Niners needing a win to maintain their hold on the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC while also eliminating the Rams from playoff contention, Garoppolo came up huge late in the game when it mattered most.
Not just one 3rd-and-16 completion, which was hauled in by wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, but another 3rd-and-16 on the very same play where Garoppolo’s arm was hit mid-throw.
Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders hauled in the pass, which set up a game-winning field goal by kicker Robbie Gould.
Garoppolo wasn’t good earlier in the game, no. But fans don’t remember what happened on those picks or sacks. Instead, they recall those back-to-back 3rd-and-16 completions.