With 1:07 to play in Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback C.J. Beathard went down with an apparent left knee injury. While safety Eric Reid and linebacker Reuben Foster didn't like the fan reaction, the cheering ushered in a new era of 49ers football. Enter backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
The quarterback proceeded to run three plays and score the first 49ers touchdown against the Seahawks this season. The final play of the sequence was a 10-yard strike to veteran receiver Louis Murphy, a player the 49ers brought back a short three weeks ago.
Louis Murphy, once released earlier in the season, catching Jimmy G's first TD is poetic. Can't write a better story. Hollywood will call for this script.
— Jerod Brown (@JerodBrown_) November 27, 2017
.@JimmyG_10 tosses his first TD as a member of the @49ers! #GoNiners pic.twitter.com/HvsIItIm9D
— NFL (@NFL) November 27, 2017
Garoppolo spoke to reporters after the game and briefly discussed the play – one that could go down in 49ers' lore.
How did it feel to get your first touchdown in a 49er uniform?
"It was cool. Like I said, tough situation being down at that point. We'll move on from here."
Can you take us through the touchdown pass?
"[49ers WR Louis Murphy] Murph made a great catch on it in the end zone. The offensive line gave me some time, I had to scramble a little bit, and it was a nice play by everybody."
As for Beathard? The embattled quarterback says he'll be just fine.
How are you feeling?
"I'm feeling alright. Yeah, I'll be alright."
Topping off the emotion from such a crucial moment in the team's season, left tackle Joe Staley shared his take on the fans' reaction to Beathard's injury:
"I don't think it was malicious by our fans and they were cheering his injury," Staley said. "I think they just got excited, but, at the same time, you can't do that. That kind of is a bad look."
The 49ers travel to Chicago next week to take on the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Garoppolo was born on November 2, 1991, in Franklin Park, IL and attended college at Eastern Illinois, after graduating from Rolling Meadows High School. The Illinois native could make his first start as a 49er on Sunday, but head coach Kyle Shanahan has left things open once again going into an important week of practice.
It's just three plays or however many. Does that factor into whether you're going to start him?
"No, those plays have nothing to do with anything. That's just running around and made a great play, but those have no bearing on it at all."
Will Jimmy take the majority of the snaps with the first team on Wednesday or have you not decided?
"I just said we're going to watch the tape, see how guys feel. We'll work with him Monday and Tuesday and then put a game plan together and see what we decide for Wednesday."
The quarterback situation will still be the top story moving forward, and we'll post updates as they come in.