3 questions Jimmy Garoppolo left us in 49ers loss to Colts

Jimmy Garoppolo wasn’t good in the 49ers’ rain-filled and sloppy Week 7 loss to the Colts, unfortunately leaving more questions than answers.

There’s an awfully realistic chance the boosters of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo saw their club take a massive hit to all new lows following the Niners’ Week 7 Sunday Night Football home loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

Simply put, Garoppolo wasn’t good amid the rain and wind that would have dominated the story if it weren’t for San Francisco’s own struggles. The veteran quarterback, who still manages to evade losing his job to the No. 3 overall pick from this year’s NFL Draft, Trey Lance, went 16-of-27 for 181 yards, one touchdown against two interceptions, two fumbles, one of which was lost, and posted a passer rating 60.9.

Garoppolo’s performance was very Garoppolo-like. When head coach Kyle Shanahan called for rollouts, misdirections and bootlegs with likely predetermined targets, such as the 49ers’ opening drive and fourth-quarter touchdown drive, Jimmy G looked very much the effective signal-caller he was during the team’s Super Bowl run in 2019.

The problem, though, is Garoppolo can’t be asked to do much more beyond that. He’s limited. Shanahan and the Niners know this, which is why they spent so much of the offseason trying to replace him, culminating in the aggressive trade-up to select Lance.

And for the “Jimmy G wins” crowd, let’s just recognize this:

Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you’re in the other crowd), Garoppolo’s recent efforts end up leaving far more questions than answers, aside from the growing reality Lance has to be the future sooner than later.

Here are three such questions Garoppolo left in his wake following Sunday night.