49ers: 5 crucial takeaways from Sunday Night Football loss vs. Packers

No. 3: 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo started slow but showed encouraging signs

It was a tale of two halves for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, with a slow start in the first half hampering his team but an improved second half almost snatching the comeback.

The first half was simply disastrous for Garoppolo. He was unable to get the team into scoring range and the one time the 49ers were, the touchdown was scored by rookie quarterback Trey Lance on a quarterback keeper.

But head coach Kyle Shanahan made the proper adjustments, and Garoppolo had a much better second half. He was frequently finding targets down the field and came up clutch on his final possession to give the team their first lead of the night.

If he hadn’t done so, the narrative would have been Garoppolo was incapable of rising to the challenge of a tough opponent. If the Niners had won, Garoppolo would have been lauded as “Captain Comeback.”

In the end, the result is somewhere around the middle. Garoppolo showed encouraging signs to dig the team out of a 17-0 hole, but what could have been for the team if he was sharp all night?