Blog Post

Love him or hate him, Jimmy Garoppolo is the engine that drives this 49ers team

Jesse Reed • January 25, 2022

Jimmy Garoppolo isn't the best quarterback out there, but he's the best for these 49ers.

If you had asked me back in early November if Jimmy Garoppolo would lead the San Francisco 49ers to the NFC Championship Game, I would have questioned your sanity. Then again, I wasn't the only one with that conviction.

Following the team's abysmal Week 8 performance at home against the Colt McCoy-led Arizona Cardinals, Kyle Shanahan's 49ers sat at 3-5 and appeared destined for a disappointing end. At the time, I and many others were convinced that Shanahan was making a massive mistake keeping rookie Trey Lance on the bench.

Shanahan remained staunch in his conviction that Garoppolo gives the 49ers the best chance to win, however. He also continued to remain as upbeat as possible despite featuring a losing record, making it clear he still viewed the playoffs as a reachable goal.

San Francisco clawed its way back into the conversation, living up to Shanahan's expectations. However, Garoppolo ended up costing the Niners big in two key losses (@Seattle and @Tennessee) that made the end of the season quite a bit more interesting than it needed to be.

Once more, fans (myself included) were upset that Shanahan continued to stick with Garoppolo. This dynamic was magnified even more following the exciting home debut of Lance against the Houston Texans when Jimmy was injured.

After a slow start, Lance and the offense heated up and many were ready to hop aboard the Trey Train.

Following that win, though, Shanahan hit the breaks on any discussion of Lance starting, despite Garoppolo's torn thumb ligament in his throwing hand.

“If Jimmy is 100 percent healthy and can do everything perfectly, then I’m going to definitely go with Jimmy,” Shanahan said (via PFT). “I’m not just going to throw a guy in after one game like this when Jimmy has been doing it for us all year.”

This comment elicited groans across social media and in some media circles. Again, I was among those groaning.

But Shanahan's plan worked. The results speak for themselves.

The best part about all of this is that Garoppolo hasn't been close to perfect whatsoever in these last three games. Since his thumb injury, Garoppolo has gone 50-of-76 passing for 619 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions.

Yet it's the man himself who has been the spark for these 49ers. Jimmy Garoppolo, the person.

Here's what Deebo Samuel and George Kittle have said about him recently:

“I mean it’s hard being a quarterback in this league, and we know what it takes, and Jimmy has the heart and the mindset to do it,” receiver Deebo Samuel told SI.com's Albert Breer. “There’s never a [time] that we ever doubted Jimmy. We know everything that he’s capable of. And mistakes are going to happen, but it’s just how you bounce back, and he bounced back.”

No matter what you or I may think about Garoppolo as an NFL quarterback, he clearly is an inspirational force for these 49ers. When we see a quarterback screwing his team with a bad interception, his teammates know Garoppolo will come back more fired up than ever.

It's not pretty. In fact, many of the 49ers wins this season have been about as ugly as they come. That seems to be the way these 49ers like them.

After stuffing Aaron Rodgers and the vaunted Green Bay Packers offense into a locker during the divisional round, the Niners are headed to Levi's South for a third showdown this campaign against the hated Los Angeles Rams.

And if they do advance to the Super Bowl, Jimmy Garoppolo will have a lot to do with it, whether you want to admit it or not.