Biggest studs, duds from 49ers Week 17 win over Texans

49ers Dud: Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo

Kyle Shanahan now has a conundrum: Start Trey Lance in Week 18 with the hopes his upside and raw talents can continue his maturation, or let Jimmy Garoppolo reclaim his starting job if he’s healthy enough after suffering a thumb injury in Week 16.

Shanahan tried his best to dodge that question when asked it during his postgame presser:

"If Jimmy is at 100 percent healthy, and can do everything perfect, then I would definitely go with Jimmy. I’m not just going to throw a guy in after one game like this when Jimmy’s been doing it for us all year. I think it’s going to be hard for Jimmy to be 100 percent, which is how most people are right now at this time of year. But Trey did a good job. If Jimmy can’t go, we won’t hesitate at all. But if we feel Jimmy can go and play confident, then Jimmy will be out there."

Reports from both ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport stated Garoppolo’s thumb injury could require offseason surgery, and the only question would be if Garoppolo could still play with the setback against a Los Angeles Rams squad that’s contending for the NFC West crown in Week 18.

But the long-term answer is clear: Lance is San Francisco’s guy moving forward, and Garoppolo’s status as a lame-duck quarterback riding out the rest of the season, no matter how it pans out, was completely cemented in Week 17.