In case you were wondering, which you probably weren't after this past Sunday's performance, a reporter asked San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan who the starting quarterback would be against the Houston Texans.
"I'll let you know at the end of the week," Shanahan answered.
Wait ... what?!
Shanahan couldn't possibly be considering another change at quarterback, right? Even if rookie C.J. Beathard is healthy, you have to move forward with Jimmy Garoppolo, right?
"I'm just joking," he added.
Nice one Coach.
While the 49ers failed to reach the end zone on Sunday, Garoppolo's 49ers debut as a starter was an impressive one. The quarterback was calm, poised, made solid decisions, and showed off his quick release in San Francisco's 15-14 win over the Chicago Bears, which was just its second victory of the season.
Garoppolo finished the day completing 26 of his 37 pass attempts for 293 yards and an interception. He will be the starter when the team travels to Houston and, barring an injury, for the three remaining games that follow.
The opportunity to play in live games will only add to his ability to absorb the entire 49ers playbook. Right now, he is limited to absorbing each week's game plan.
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"Each game he goes through, that's going to help more and more," Shanahan said. "We're going to put in a new game plan this week, and he'll get that starting Wednesday for Houston. When you talk about a playbook, that's OTAs, that's training camp, that is the foundation of how you teach people and then you game plan each week.
"So, Jimmy will know this game plan going into Sunday just like he knew yesterday. The more he keeps doing it, which he's going to do it here for five weeks in a row, I think he'll absorb more, and he'll be able to be more decisive and just mindful when he's in that pocket how far he has to go and make the plays he does."
What did Shanahan think of his newly acquired quarterback's debut after having a chance to watch the game film multiple times?
"It was fun to watch, first time on the plane, watching it a couple times today," Shanahan said. "I think seeing it out there live you could tell he made some impressive throws. There were definitely situations where he got a little confused in and still was able to make plays, which the more he plays and the more he's around us knowing the scheme and reps he'll have less of those.
"But, I think it was still very impressive to the situation he was in for him to just be able to keep his poise and still be able to make some plays when things weren't perfect."
The 49ers and Texans kick off on Sunday at 10 am PT/12 pm CT from NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
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