Jimmy Garoppolo: 5 best games from 49ers quarterback
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: Jimmy Garoppolo beats the Cardinals on Halloween 2019
There are a number of games where Jimmy Garoppolo had to put the 49ers offense on his shoulders. Perhaps the only wish for Jimmy G would be he could do that more frequently.
Nevertheless, he had one of those chances on an Oct. 31 Thursday Night Football bout against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium, which was a game that saw one of his best targets, tight end George Kittle, suffer a ribs injury early in the game before scoring a touchdown.
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Kittle was pulled from the contest shortly thereafter, and the Niners ground game didn’t do much to support Garoppolo either, managing just 101 total rush yards and averaging 3.3 yards per attempt.
Despite all this, Garoppolo’s line of 28-of-37 for 317 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions helped get San Francisco out to a 21-7 lead by halftime, only to see Arizona cut into the lead with a desperate second-half comeback.
The lack of a rushing game hindered Garoppolo’s ability to rely heavily on play action. And while the 49ers were held off the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, he had helped build a big enough lead to absorb the Cardinals’ comeback efforts.
A key third-down conversion pass to Kittle’s backup, tight end Ross Dwelley, sealed the game and also helped this bout rank high on the list of Garoppolo’s all-time best games.