49ers vs. Lions: 5 X-factors that must go San Francisco’s way in Week 1
By Peter Panacy
![Kendall Gaskins #30 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images) Kendall Gaskins #30 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/57de965bc51b16d8e1d1989c90a945b417a0404c4f7e8cf915c06442a2bbcb61.jpg)
No. 2: Jimmy Garoppolo must not lose turnover battle to Jared Goff
Ah, yes. Two quarterbacks who have a tendency to turn the ball over.
In the case of Jared Goff, getting non-blitz pressure on him has allowed him to emerge as an interception-prone signal-caller. Over his career since 2016, Goff has tossed 55 interceptions and has had at least 10 in each of his last three seasons, albeit in a totally different and vastly superior offense with the Los Angeles Rams.
Goff’s career interception percentage, though, is still notably high at 2.3. Anytime a quarterback gets above 2.0, it’s a bit worrisome, and quarterbacks whose interception percentage rises above 3.0 are likely in danger of losing a starting job or shouldn’t be on the field for anything more than a backup option in the first place.
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San Francisco’s starting quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, has also historically struggled with tossing picks, registering a career 2.7 interception percentage while tossing 26 interceptions over his four-year 49ers tenure.
Like penalties, turnovers can be one way a vastly superior team can let an inferior team hang around in a game, so Garoppolo certainly has to be on the winning side of tossing interceptions.
Let Goff make those kinds of mistakes.