Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has gone 5-0 as a starter for the second time during his three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. The first was during that impressive five-game winning streak to end the 2017 season. The biggest difference was that the 49ers had gone 1-10 before Garoppolo's run and had long been eliminated from playoff contention.
The finish in 2017 earned Garoppolo the largest contract in NFL history, which has since been surpassed several times over. It also built a lot of hype and expectations surrounding the quarterback. All of that evaporated when Garoppolo went down last year with a season-ending ACL injury during Week 3.
This year, Garoppolo is 5-0 to start the season, and his 49ers are very much being discussed as a playoff team. In fact, they own the NFC's best record and are one of just two undefeated teams left in the league. The New England Patriots, Garoppolo's previous squad, are the other.
Just for fun, I thought it might be interesting to compare Garoppolo's stats through the two 5-0 runs with him as the starting quarterback. While his passing yards were significantly higher two seasons ago, the other numbers are surprisingly similar.
| 2017 | 2019 | |
| 5-0 | Record | 5-0 |
| 120-178 | Comp-Att | 102-146 |
| 67.4 | Pct | 69.9 |
| 1,560 | Yards | 1,163 |
| 7 | TD | 7 |
| 5 | INT | 5 |
| 96.2 | Rate | 95.2 |
Garoppolo also had a rushing touchdown during each five-game stretch.
Following Sunday's 20-7 win over the Los Angeles Rams, Garoppolo was asked about that 2017 season and how his run at the end of the year compared to this 5-0 start.
"That 2017 was kind of a lot of things coming together at once, all of a sudden, at the end," Garoppolo replied. "We put in a lot of work in the offseason. Guys dedicated a lot to this, given up a lot for this, and it's starting to show out there. Just proud of the guys, and we've got a long way to go."
