Jimmy Garoppolo was resilient in 49ers Week 12 win vs. Saints

The 49ers won a tough, often ugly game against the Saints. And while he wasn’t the main reason, Jimmy Garoppolo was resilient on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.

It would be unfair to say that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was the reason the San Francisco 49ers extended their winning streak to four games via a 13-0 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon in Santa Clara.

However, it would also be unreasonable to suggest that Garoppolo did not produce one of his more resilient performances of 2022 in the Niners’ win.

The final score didn’t flatter much of anyone on the offensive side of the football for San Francisco. Still, Garoppolo stood tall against a Saints defense that was clearly looking to match the Niners’ vaunted physicality.

Jimmy G finished the contest 26-of-37 for 222 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, along with avoiding throwing an interception for a career-best fifth game in a row (although he did technically throw one against the Saints that was called back for an illegal contact penalty and proved to be a critical moment in the game).

The touchdown came in the closing moments of the first half with the 49ers offense only having managed an opening-drive field goal so far on the day. Garoppolo was under pressure, as he was for what felt like most of the game, and was unable to use his whole body to get the throw toward wide receiver Jauan Jennings.

Garoppolo’s pass was tipped by Saints’ safety Tyrann Mathieu, but the ball went straight up the in the air and Jennings was able to snatch it on the way down before landing on his backside for the game’s only touchdown.

And while the defense gave one of its shining performances of the year in shutting out the Saints, Garoppolo and the offense never really got going in spite of the quarterback tossing his second-most passes on the season.

Part of that was the pass rush of the Saints, led by defensive ends Cameron Jordan and former 49er Kentavius Street along with defensive tackle Malcolm Roach, who was called for a roughing the passer penalty on the Niners’ opening drive of the second half that left the 49ers’ quarterback in pain.

There’s a case to be made that Garoppolo was outside of the tackle box and therefore was no longer protected in the same way he is in the pocket. But the hit was late and very low and Garoppolo never really seemed quite right after writhing in pain following the incident.

Garoppolo was still upset about the play after the game, noting that players “got to look out for one another” and that there’s “no place for that” kind of hit in the game.

Read More: Niners increase NFC West lead after blanking Saints in Week 12

But the sequence was an example of why it is fair to say that although the 49ers’ signal-caller might not have had his best statistical game of the season, it would be wrong to say that he didn’t have an impact. He showed the toughness and resiliency that his teammates praise him for, both early in the game when the battering was at its worst and in fighting through that hit from Roach.

And yes, the defense will deservedly receive most of the headlines for holding the Saints to just 260 yards of total offense and a goose egg on the scoreboard.

But Jimmy Garoppolo should be given praise for fighting through a tough game where the offense was often not playing at its highest level and never really got into a solid rhythm throughout the matchup.