Jimmy Garoppolo relieves Trey Lance, 49ers take big lead over Seahawks

In less-than-ideal circumstances, Jimmy Garoppolo helped the 49ers get out to a big first-half lead over the Seahawks after relieving an injured Trey Lance.

It’s certainly not how the San Francisco 49ers drew it up, but they’ll certainly be happy with a 20-0 lead in Week 2 over the visiting Seattle Seahawks.

But how things got to that point is entirely a different story.

The Niners were already out to a 6-0 lead over the Hawks with starting quarterback Trey Lance under center, using a run-heavy offensive approach in tandem with veteran running back Jeff Wilson Jr. and Lance’s own interior rushes.

However, the third of Lance’s quarterback-power runs resulted in what appears to be a serious ankle injury, requiring a cart to take Lance off the field late in the first quarter.

Horrible news for San Francisco, and it’s equally as horrible for Lance, too.

Yet the 49ers’ surprising contingency plan of keeping veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo this season instead of trading or releasing him apparently has paid off, as Jimmy G worked himself into the fray right away despite not having worked with the team during the offseason and in training camp.

For the remainder of the first half, it appeared as if Garoppolo didn’t miss a beat whatsoever.

Jimmy Garoppolo helps get 49ers out to big lead over Seahawks

Granted, Seattle’s offense had all kinds of trouble against a reinvigorated Niners defense, which picked off Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith once and also intercepted running back DeeJay Dallas on a trick play, too.

However, Garoppolo’s comfort level showed up almost immediately, particularly on finding a wide-open tight end, Ross Dwelley, for an easy 38-yard touchdown early in the second quarter:

With fullback Kyle Juszczyk adding another touchdown late in the first half, Garoppolo and the San Francisco offense appeared to be having their way with the Hawks’ banged-up defense over two quarters.

Read More: Chris Simms says some 49ers vets prefer Jimmy Garoppolo over Trey Lance

Through those two quarters and in relief of Lance, Garoppolo went 8-of-11 for 106 yards, the touchdown toss to Dwelley and a passer rating of 133.1.

The 49ers unsurprisingly listed Lance as out for the rest of the game, meaning Jimmy G will have plenty of time to keep playing with proverbial “house money” for the second half.

Seattle will start off on offense in the third quarter.