Jimmy Garoppolo must shoulder bigger load vs. Seahawks in Week 13

With Deebo Samuel out, the 49ers have to turn to Jimmy Garoppolo to make more plays through the air than he has in recent weeks.

Over their three-game win streak, the San Francisco 49ers have returned to the identity that made their offense so potent back during 2019’s Super Bowl push.

Run the football. Run it a lot, and run it successfully.

It’s working. Not only have the Niners dominated the time-of-possession battle the last three weeks, but they’ve also scored 30-plus points in each of those games.

Now, with an NFC West feature against the 3-8 Seattle Seahawks in Week 13, one figures this will be the exact approach again.

Except for not necessarily.

The Hawks are surprisingly good against the run. And one of San Francisco’s top X-factors, wide receiver Deebo Samuel, won’t be available to execute many of those run plays, as he’s expected to miss Sunday’s contest with a groin injury.

As such, there’s going to be a lot more pressure on quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

Seahawks will try taking away 49ers rushing attack

Seattle is the worst team in the NFL when it comes to time of possession. That surely benefits the 49ers, who’ve nearly reached 40 minutes of possession time during their three-game win streak.

But much of that has been achieved by way of the ground game, Samuel playing a big part and Garoppolo usually acting the part of a game manager.

Despite all their deficiencies, the Seahawks are allowing an average of just 3.9 rush yards per attempt this season, now fourth best in the league in that category entering Week 13, meaning it’ll be tough sledding for Garoppolo to simply rely on hand-offs and toss plays.

That said, there are ways for Garoppolo to be successful.

Jimmy Garoppolo can target Seahawks LB Jordyn Brooks

Samuel’s rise has somewhat come at the expense of tight end George Kittle, who had just one reception for 13 yards in Week 12 against the Minnesota Vikings and hasn’t crested 100 receiving yards since way back in Week 9 against the Arizona Cardinals.

But Kittle and fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who have been playing bigger roles in the run game as of late, might figure to be used more as receiving options against a Hawks defense that’s given up the second-most pass yards in the league this season (3,015).

Especially if Garoppolo targets Seattle linebacker Jordyn Brooks, as the suggestion from The Athletic’s David Lombardi below makes:

Brooks and the Seahawks’ front seven have been solid against opposing rushing attacks in recent weeks, but that intermediate pass defense is questionable at best.

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That’s where Garoppolo would be wise to look to players like Kittle and Juszczyk to be larger contributors in the passing game.

Garoppolo is averaging 234.2 pass yards per game this season, 14-plus yards lower than the average he posted back in 2019 but above the 182.7 average he had during limited action a year ago.

Considering the Hawks are likely to clamp down as much as possible on the Niners’ ground game, potentially putting an extra defensive lineman in the box, Garoppolo might be called upon to execute more through the air.

If he regularly targets Brooks, this should be a lot easier.