San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo responded to an innocuous Week 1 outing in a win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by throwing for 297 yards with three touchdowns, an interception, and a passer rating of 131.2 — his highest as a Niner — against the Cincinnati Bengals.
In his defense, Garoppolo wasn't the only underwhelming aspect of the 49ers offense in Week 1 which saw a Week 2 resurgence. The run game, which managed 98 total yards against the Buccaneers, racked up 259 against the Bengals.
"Throughout this whole week, we've been saying if we go out there and execute the way we know how to, the way we do in practice every day, we'll be in good shape," Garoppolo said after the 41-17 rout of the Bengals.
Kyle Shanahan's faith in Garoppolo is unwavering, and the 49ers head coach believes the best thing for his quarterback's development is simply experience. It's something he has stated over and over throughout the offseason; throughout the last couple of offseasons, actually.
"Everyone knows the ability Jimmy has, and he's shown it," Shanahan said on Sunday. "It's not just about a guy with talent. It's about a guy who has talent, who's played in games and shown everyone he can play at a high level. The more he's out there, actually, the better he'll get, even when he does make mistakes, as long as he learns from them.
"I thought we really helped him out today just having a run game. Being able to do that well in the run game really helps you be balanced. It takes the pressure off of him. It takes a little bit of the pressure off the O-line and the pass game, and it gets you some cleaner looks.
"I thought, just as a team, they all did a lot better, and obviously, Jimmy did too."
The 49ers return to the West Coast with a 2-0 record. They will review some film as a team on Monday and then the focus will shift to the Pittsburgh Steelers, their last opponent before an early Week 4 bye week.
The last time the 49ers opened up the season 2-0 was in 2012, which ended with a trip to the Super Bowl. The team has an opportunity to accomplish something the franchise hasn't done in over two decades — start the season 3-0.
"I think it's just keep moving in the right direction," Garoppolo added. "Each game, you try to improve, keep getting better. Each practice, same way. So I think it's coming along and there's still things to clean up. That was a stupid interception today, but a lot of positives came out of it."
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