Key questions Jimmy Garoppolo raised in 49ers loss vs. Broncos

Jimmy Garoppolo wasn’t good in the 49ers’ Week 3 loss to the Broncos, putting it bluntly. And his paltry efforts create more questions than are needed right now.

The San Francisco 49ers likely would have survived their Week 3 Sunday Night Football matchup against the Denver Broncos if quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo avoided just a single one of the multiple mistakes he made throughout the game.

Had Garoppolo not stepped out of bounds in the back of the end zone for what turned into a safety in the third quarter, and all other things being equal, the Niners would have won 10-9 instead of losing 11-10.

If Jimmy G connected with wide-open wide receiver Deebo Samuel, just once instead of actually missing him twice, San Francisco would have tacked on a much-needed touchdown and likely would have won the game.

And if he had gone better than the 3-of-8 mark on third down (the 49ers went a lowly 1-of-10 on third-down plays), fans would probably be looking at a 2-1 Niners squad instead of a 1-2 record through three weeks.

Garoppolo’s efforts in the game do answer one question, though. They establish the reasons why San Francisco wanted to transition from him to now-injured quarterback Trey Lance, whom Garoppolo replaced in Week 2 when the former suffered a season-ending ankle injury.

However, there are plenty of other unanswered questions Garoppolo left in his wake on Sunday night.

Question No. 1: Does Jimmy Garoppolo stabilize 49ers offense?

A common take after Lance was lost to his injury a week ago was the Niners offense would actually be better with Garoppolo, the veteran, under center.

Sure, Garoppolo might get a slight pass for not having worked with the team during the offseason, training camp and into the preseason. But, after nearly five full years immersed in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense, one would figure Garoppolo would be a plug-and-play option.

Garoppolo targeted Samuel and fellow wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk eight times apiece, but failing to connect with Samuel on that one wide-open would-be touchdown suggests there’s some lack of chemistry there.

Above that, Garoppolo wholly lacked the poise needed to ensure a second-half collapse didn’t ensue.

While Lance’s inexperience and rawness might have led to a similar outcome, had he played, at least a would-be loss there could be chalked up to growing pains.

Garoppolo shouldn’t be afforded those excuses.