Jimmy Garoppolo: Why 49ers QB blossomed vs. Jaguars

The 49ers have made it to 5-5, with Jimmy Garoppolo once again doing what he has to do at quarterback to keep the team going.

With a dominant 30-10 road win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, the San Francisco 49ers have managed to properly right the ship and get themselves to 5-5 for the season.

This doesn’t quite put the Niners in a Wild Card spot, but they’re now officially knocking on the door with a hypothetical win over the Minnesota Vikings next week putting them there.

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been a key factor in San Francisco’s improved performances as of late. He hasn’t been lighting up the stat sheet, but the return of tight end George Kittle and the addition of wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk back to the rotation has seen Garoppolo play the role of game manager to perfection.

Garoppolo went 16-of-22 passing for 176 yards and two touchdowns. The Jacksonville defense isn’t exactly great, but he did want he had to do to put the team in a winning position.

Jimmy Garoppolo does more than enough in 49ers Week 11 win

The most impressive part was both of the touchdown passes, which were accurate throws in tight windows to Kittle and Aiyuk. Garoppolo’s accuracy has been much improved in recent weeks, a vital reason for the improvement in games, and he’s tossed just one interception over his last four contests.

Including none in Week 11.

Read More: 49ers grades from one-sided road win over Jaguars in Week 11

Even with starting right tackle Mike McGlinchey out of the lineup, the team has kept Garoppolo reasonably well protected with left tackle Trent Williams completely impassable to defenders.

The combination of returning weapons and good blocking has allowed Garoppolo to perform the role that got the 49ers to the Super Bowl two years ago, a role that allows the team to thrive.

It’s obvious what Garoppolo’s role is: make the throws he has to make to support the running game. This was shown once again, as the Niners threw the ball 22 times and (including quarterback scrambles or designed runs) ran the ball 42 times in the game. Granted some of that had to do with the sizeable lead the 49ers had, but it’s no secret they like to run the ball anyway.

Garoppolo now has a sterner test against a Vikings team that’s riding high after defeating the Green Bay Packers in thrilling fashion last Sunday.

A win in Week 12 gets San Francisco into a Wild Card spot as mentioned before.

If Garoppolo continues to play at his current level, the team has a very good chance to make it three wins in a row.