Even more impressive is that he won those final five games within a demanding system with very little time to absorb its complexities.
While wins are the most important statistic, that doesn't mean it isn't fun to look at others. And when it comes to obscure – yet interesting – statistics, no one does it better than Pro Football Focus.
It turns out, Jimmy Garoppolo was especially impressive during a single quarter of each game. He was the highest-graded quarterback in the second quarter of play last season, beating out Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers and his former mentor, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots.
While Garoppolo didn't rank in the top 5 within any other quarter, he led the second by a large margin. Cam Mellor of Pro Football Focus explained during a recent feature for the site.
"In our adjusted passer rating figure, developed by our PFF Forecast team that essentially replaces interceptions with turnover-worthy throws and touchdowns with big-time throws, Garoppolo sported a 104.4 mark, tying for the third-highest in the second quarter," wrote Mellor. "He was subject to two interceptions in the second quarter, both of which were not deemed to be turnover-worth plays, proving just how valuable a switch in the standard passer rating mark can be to understand quarterback play.
"He saw an adjusted completion percentage of 72.2 percent and was solid both against the blitz (112.1 passer rating, eighth) and when kept clean from the pocket (110.0, 13th)."