The 49ers had a chance to go to 2-1 on the young season. However, abysmal quarterback play held the 49ers back in an embarrassing 11-10 loss to the Denver Broncos. Jimmy Garoppolo looked the worst he has ever been. What must the 49ers do from here at the quarterback position?
Sunday night against the Denver Broncos set offensive football back decades. Garoppolo was simply horrific Sunday night. No more excuses, he is not the answer. Wasn’t then, wasn’t now. The 49ers have an incredible Super Bowl level of defense. Starting Jimmy Garoppolo will waste that.
Week Three was the defining example of that. The defense held it’s own allowing only nine points and 261 yards of total offense. However, the 49ers fell to 1-2. Garoppolo looked like a guy who was picked up off the street and told he was starting five minutes before kickoff.
Consistent misreads, over-throws and a simple lack of ability have met their end. The 49ers have a decision on their hands. How long can you stay with Garoppolo if he keeps performing like this?
49ers And Jimmy Garoppolo’s Awful Night
The 49ers have all-pro talent throughout the offense. George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, and Kyle Juszczyk are all players every team in the NFL would love to have. The offense should never struggle as much as they did tonight. However, the starting quarterback looked lost out there.
On Sunday night, Jimmy Garoppolo went 18-29 for 211 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception. His stats do not look all that terrible, but for those who watched the game, the stats do not tell the whole story.
If Trey Lance played as badly as Garoppolo played, fans would be calling for him to lose his starting job. There would be revolts by 49ers fans on social media. If this was Trey Lance, it would be understandable for him to struggle. A second-year quarterback taking the reigns as the full-time starter allows for this type of game to happen. However, Jimmy is in year nine. Some plays we saw today were simply inexcusable.
Running out the back of the end zone is one of the most embarrassing things a professional quarterback can do. This play was doomed at the start.
The play ended in a pick-six that did not count because of the safety. Adding insult to injury, Trent Williams might have suffered a season-changing injury.
Missed throws have all been too often with Garoppolo. He missed multiple screen passes to players, and all of them were thrown high. We also saw two batted-down passes that ended drives.
In this play, Deebo Samuel is wide open for a touchdown. Garoppolo didn’t see him. This type of throw has to be attempted.
On the second to last possession of the game for the 49ers, Garoppolo threw into double coverage directly at a defensive back that was tipped and picked off to end the drive and basically end the game.
Abysmal.
49ers And What They Should Do From Here
Jimmy Garoppolo is on his absolute last straw. It’s tough to give him more than one more game. If he plays like this again against the Rams, it could be time to start Brock Purdy.
Purdy, the final pick of the 2022 draft, made the team after an impressive preseason. Now, since Lance is injured, Purdy is the backup quarterback. We do not know what he is as a starter. We do, however, know what Garoppolo is. Would it be smart to hand the reigns over to a seventh-round pick based on one game? Probably not. If it happens for the second week in a row, it might begin to become reality.
Brock Purdy showed pocket movability, a solid arm, and the ability to run when a play breaks down. Starting him would be the most controversial move by a team in recent memory. However, you cannot keep asking your team to play at 100 percent when the main guy at the most important position is playing awfully.
It leads to discontent and could break up a locker room.
49ers 2022 Season So Far
The 49ers next week play the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night football.
San Francisco in 2022 has had two of the most embarrassing losses in the NFL this season. We may no longer be able to look at the 49ers as Super Bowl contenders. On one hand, they aren’t on the same level as teams like the Raiders and Seahawks, battling for the first overall pick.
On the other hand, they aren’t in the same echelon as Super Bowl-level teams like the Ravens, Rams, Chiefs, Bills and Dolphins. It might be time to temper season expectations.
Can things change? Absolutely. The 49ers started 3-5 last season. They made the playoffs after winning seven of their last eight games and got to the NFC Championship Game, but came up short when the quarterback had a chance to win the game.
Funny enough, when you look at it, defines the Jimmy Garoppolo era.
