The San Francisco 49ers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 27-17 in their third preseason game, but more importantly, like way more importantly, fans of the red and gold can breathe easy. Their quarterback is going to be just fine.
Jimmy Garoppolo
After a rough Monday Night Football outing, Jimmy Garoppolo looked more like himself, throwing some dimes and getting his confidence back.
He played the first half, which translated to five series, and finished the night 14-of-20 for 188 yards, one TD and no interceptions with a rating of 116.3.
“Jimmy was pumped for today,” said head coach Kyle Shanahan. “When guys don’t play well the week before and everyone is talking about it, all guys want to do is get back out there, and it couldn’t come fast enough. I’m glad it worked out for him.”
Things are looking up for the quarterback who was back at Arrowhead Stadium for the first time since tearing his ACL there last September.
“It was a good step coming back here to KC where it started,” Garoppolo said. “To get that out of the way, it was another step in the right direction.”
Garoppolo’s first drive was a little shaky, but a conversion on third down to wide receiver Marquise Goodwin set the tone for the rest of his night. On his second drive, the 49ers’ QB1 was 4-of-4, and the drive ended with a 20-yard touchdown pass to running back Matt Breida. The rest of his outing was relatively smooth and it looks like the rust has officially been shaken off.
Breida, for his part, is making a solid case to be the 49ers’ starting running back come Week One. He had seven carries for 44 yards and two receptions for 31 yards, which included the aforementioned TD.
“I wish I could have put it a little closer so he didn’t have to dive for it and make it a little easier on him,” Garoppolo said. “[Breida] made a tremendous catch on it. Most of the time it’s receivers making that catch, but when a running back can do it it’s so hard for defenses to plan for that. It’s a credit to him. It was a tremendous catch.”
All the QBs
In the battle for QB2, Shanahan has not given an indication as to which way he’s leaning when it comes to Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard. However, he did say after the game that the plan is for the 49ers to have three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster.
“I know we have three NFL quarterbacks who can help us,” said Shanahan. “They’re not easy to come by, regardless of where you draft them. When you have that, you just don’t give it away.”
The Healthy and Versatile Jimmie Ward
Jimmie Ward didn’t have a lot of practice time to prepare for tonight’s game, but that didn’t stop him from being ready to play anywhere, literally.
The defensive back broke his collarbone this past May and had his first full practice this last week. Against the Chiefs, the 49ers used Ward both at free safety and slot corner.
“I think it just helps me to know the whole defense,” Ward said. “Because I’m in so many different parts of this. Our base defense is cover-three. I’m learning what the linebacker does and sometimes what the defensive end does. It works out perfectly, when I’m moving around.”
Ward had three total tackles and drew an OPI call. Welcome back, Mr. Ward.
Linebacker Kwon Alexander made his 49ers’ debut against the Chiefs and he made it well with two solo tackles and three total. It was also Alexander’s first game action since tearing his ACL last October.
