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Jimmy Garoppolo’s postseason numbers aren’t incredible. In five playoff games, the San Francisco 49ers’ QB1 has a 62% completion rate, one touchdown and three interceptions. And yet, the numbers that matter are the ones in the win column, and the 49ers are 4-1 in the postseason with Garoppolo under center.
“That’s why you play the game,” said Garoppolo. “Statistics and individual things are all cool and everything, but you play to win the game and you to go out there and try to win championships. And maybe our numbers don’t show the MVP stuff, but I think we’ve got a couple players on our team – [WR] Deebo [Samuel], [T] Trent Williams – those guys could be in that conversation very easily. If the award was looked at a little differently.”
Since Garoppolo came to San Francisco via the New England Patriots in 2017, the 49ers are 33-15 with him as a starter.
“You can’t say enough about that guy,” said 49ers tight end George Kittle. “The sh*t he takes… consistently people just try to drag him down, and all he does is deliver. He leads this team. He’s the sense of calm in the huddle. He’s the sense of calm in the storm, and he allows us to play football at a high level.”
In last week’s divisional round playoff game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, Garoppolo was 11-of-19 for 131 yards and an interception. But with 3:20 left and the game tied at 10-10, he led a game-winning drive that put the 49ers in position for Robbie Gould to kick the game-winning field goal.
“I think each [game] its own flavor to it, but you could feel it, it’s kind of like the momentum thing I was talking about,” Garoppolo said. “You can’t really put your finger on it. There’s no statistic for it, but there’s a feel to it during the game. And I think the coaches and players, especially the guys on the field, have a feel for that. And you kind of get into a rhythm of it as the game goes.”
Due to Garoppolo’s injury history and other factors, the 49ers moved up nine picks in the 2021 NFL draft to make Trey Lance their franchise quarterback of the future. Key word, future. Head coach Kyle Shanahan maintained then, and has all season, that Garoppolo gave the 49ers the best chance to win in the present.
“Honestly I’m impressed with his demeanor as a leader,” said pass rusher Nick Bosa. “A lot of people give him crap for whatever, but he’s as cool and collected as a quarterback that I’ve ever had, and he is the perfect guy to lead us to where we need to go.”
Even when the team was 3-5, Shanahan never wavered on his convictions that Garoppolo was the 49ers’ Mr. Right Now.
“I didn’t think Jimmy was the issue,” Shanahan said. “I thought Jimmy, there was games that he could have played better in, but I didn’t think he was playing the way that everyone was saying…But when we did have a 3-5 record, I knew we were not one game away, but it was getting close to where the best thing for the team was focusing on some other things and maybe getting some guys some chances to play, but I never felt that at 3-5. But you could see that the games were going to come if we didn’t turn this around fast. And I felt the first time we did that was that game versus the Rams and since then I haven’t had that thought because that got us on a pretty good roll after that. And we’ve never been in that situation since, where you see that nearing.”
From that Week 10 Rams game on, the 49ers improved on defense, improved in the run game, improved everywhere, including at quarterback. Garoppolo went 6-2 in his final eight starts, and the team finished 7-2 to get into the playoffs.
“I think one of the hardest things with Jimmy is when people are covered, he believes he can just put the ball in the right spot, which he does a lot,” Shanahan said. “That throw that he threw to Jauan Jennings on third-and-five, we were hot, he didn’t have time to throw that ball and somehow, he created it, which is one of the most talented throws I’ve ever seen. And Jauan ended up dropping it. That was unbelievable. Was it the best decision? It was because it was right on the money, but that’s the stuff that not many people can pull off and that is risky.
“So that’s a fine line when you have someone who is as talented of a thrower as Jimmy. He doesn’t feel the same way always in the heat of the battle, that he can’t make that throw. Now when you watch it on tape and stuff, then he’ll see it. But you’re not thinking about that when you’re playing a sport, you’re just reacting and those are the things that I try to put him in better situations. And sometimes when it doesn’t go the right way, yeah, it’s disappointing. But I can’t tell you how many times that I don’t think anyone’s open and there is no play to be made and we need to make one or the game’s going to be over and he finds a way to make it…That’s playing quarterback in this league…”
Bosa mentioned the “crap” Garoppolo takes, and it comes from social media, the fans, from a lot of places, but for the QB, it doesn’t really matter.
“I think just knowing yourself and knowing who you are plays a big part of that, because if you get lost in it and start believing some of those things, it could take you down the wrong road,” Garoppolo said. “…I think it’s just about knowing yourself as a player, as a person and as long as these guys in this locker room have faith in me and believe in me, that’s all I really care about.”
Garoppolo’s teammates have always revered him and always spoken highly of him, but this week, many took to social media to show their support.
“I just think if you click social media, you see people talking about Jimmy this, Jimmy that,” said wide receiver Deebo Samuel. “I mean, numbers don’t lie. This is what people say. So, I just say, check the win percentages.”
Though he’s not a social media user himself, Shanahan understands why his players want to counter the negativity Garoppolo gets.
“…I’m glad they’re sticking up for him, because what they say is the truth,” Shanahan said. “Jimmy is one of the main reasons we’re here. He’s done an unbelievable job. People don’t give him enough credit. Yeah, we win as a team and that’s why he doesn’t always have the same stats that some of these MVP candidates have, but Jimmy’s a very good quarterback and he doesn’t worry about any of that stuff…[H]e never really changes, and I think that’s what people respect the most about him. He’s gone through some ups and downs while he’s been here, like most quarterbacks do, but he’s the same guy. And that’s why people, first and foremost, respect him as a human, as a person. And then the way that he goes and battles on the field, everyone knows how tough he is, everyone knows how hard he’ll compete running with the ball, and our guys also know he can throw pretty well too.”
Kittle was a rookie when Garoppolo, who had won two Super Bowls with the Patriots, arrived in Santa Clara. He started five games that season. The 49ers won all five. He got hurt in Week 3 of 2018. He took them to a Super Bowl in 2019, and on Sunday in Los Angeles, he has a chance to do it again.
“…[I]t’s been fun to see Jimmy evolve,” Kittle said. “But at the same time, his consistency and just his every day, ‘I’m going to show up, I’m going to work. I’m going to be my best self,’ it’s inspiring. He’s done the same thing week in-and- week out, even when he was injured, he was still a part of the team in 2018. And then in 2019, you could just tell he just wants to win games and that’s what he does. He does everything he can to win football games. He shows up every day, he’s consistent, but he does get better. And just seeing him throw those balls in those tight windows and stuff like that, it’s very impressive and just makes you work a little bit harder. So yeah, he has a ball, but his consistency is what’s always impressed me.”
The 49ers take on the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game on Sunday 3:30 pm PT at SoFi Stadium.
*Header image provided by 49ers.com