Niners QB Jimmy Garoppolo answers critics with big win

By Eric D. Williams
FOX Sports NFL Writer

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — With black athletic tape wrapped around his wrist and injured right thumb, a smiling Jimmy Garoppolo jogged off the field at SoFi Stadium after a draining, 27-24 overtime win against the Los Angeles Rams.

The victory clinched a postseason berth for the San Francisco 49ers for the second time in three years, after the team reached the Super Bowl two years ago.

Before heading into the tunnel, an exhausted Garoppolo slid off his right wristband and chucked it into the seats filled with red-clad fans.

The Niners fell behind 17-0 early. It didn’t matter. This is what the Niners do, apparently — beat up on the Rams.

Behind a bruising running game that rolled up 135 yards on the ground and an imposing defense that sacked Matthew Stafford five times, San Francisco battled back to force overtime, winning the game on a Robbie Gould 24-yard field goal in extra time.

"Getting off the slow start and coming back like we did, it took everything," Garoppolo said afterward. "And we say that a lot of weeks, but this one really did. I felt it after the game, and a lot of the guys in the locker room did, but it was worth it." 

After a 2-4 start to the season that included a four-game losing streak, NFL observers (rightly) doubted Garoppolo’s ability to lead his team to a got-a-have-it victory, given his uneven play. In fact, some might have expected Garoppolo to be subbed out for rookie first-round draft choice Trey Lance after San Francisco’s poor start.

But that was never a consideration, according to 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.

"Just from my eyes, I don’t think it [the thumb] affected him at all," Shanahan said. "How he looked at practice this week, he looked good, too. If he would have been hurt or something would have happened in the game, I wouldn’t have hesitated." 

Sunday’s win was a microcosm of San Francisco’s up-and-down season. Just like Garoppolo, the Niners never wavered.

"It’s Jimmy. He’s a good football player," 49ers tight end George Kittle said. "He knows how to bounce back. He doesn’t let things snowball. He just flushes it and goes on to the next play. He’s got that quick release. He’s got a nice jaw line, and he knows how to make plays." 

In the process of getting the win Sunday, the Niners defeated Sean McVay’s Rams for a sixth straight time under Shanahan. San Francisco also ended another impressive McVay streak; the Rams had been 45-0 under their head coach after leading at halftime.

"It’s tough to beat that team once," Shanahan said when asked about the win streak. "That’s a really good team, with really good coaches. And they’ve got the players and everything. It’s not a coincidence that they’ve only lost four this year. I know that was six in a row for us, but each game is its own game. And that was a battle."

Despite missing his team’s victory over the Houston Texans a week earlier, Garoppolo said he expected to get the nod against L.A. because of how he practiced leading up to Sunday’s contest. 

"I think it was Tuesday," he said. "We did a throwing session to test it out, and we kind of turned it into a game-like scenario. I kept being aware of it all week, but I had a pretty good feeling that I was going to be able to do it. It was just a matter of pain tolerance, really."

Garoppolo said he had assistance with pain management, with trainers working through different tape jobs and braces to help make the 30-year-old signal-caller comfortable.

"It got better as it went, I would say," he said. "Honestly, with injuries like that, your body is just learning and adapting the whole time. Early on, it was pretty numb, so it felt all right. And it got better and better as it went, and my arm just learned how to adapt to it."

Entering Sunday’s contest against the Rams, Garoppolo had completed 71% of his passes for 1,152 yards, with six touchdown passes and four interceptions in his past four games. San Francisco finished 2-2 in those contests. 

Lance is the likely successor to the starting quarterback job in San Francisco. Garoppolo has one year left on a five-year, $137 million deal — $25.6 million, which he is due to make next season, is a lot to pay a backup quarterback. 

The Niners could save that money by moving Garoppolo next season. So why not hand the reins to the North Dakota State product now?

On Sunday, Garoppolo showed why Shanahan pumped the brakes on making a switch. After a slow start, the QB finished 23-for-32 for 316 yards and a touchdown pass.

Yes, he fumbled in his own territory on a strip sack by Rams defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson, recovered by San Francisco. And he threw an interception in L.A.’s end zone on an acrobatic play by Jalen Ramsey. But when his team needed him to make a big play, Garoppolo came through in the clutch for his 10th career comeback victory.

He'll get at least one more chance to lead San Francisco when the Niners hit the road to face the Dallas Cowboys next week in the Super Wild-Card round. And with playmakers such as Kittle, Deebo Samuel and Elijah Mitchell on offense and a menacing defense led by Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, the Niners could make some noise.

Samuel continues to be a nightmare for the Rams. He finished with 140 yards from scrimmage, scoring on a 16-yard run and notching his first career touchdown pass, a 24-yard strike to Jauan Jennings.

With 26 seconds to play, Jennings also hauled in a 14-yard pass from Garoppolo to force overtime after a five-play, 88-yard drive without timeouts was executed flawlessly by the Eastern Illinois product. 

"That’s the perfect type of win we needed heading into this tournament because it’s not going to be easy," Warner said. "The NFC is loaded with talent, and if we really want to reach our end goal, we have to take it one game at a time and really dial in it." 

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @eric_d_williams.