Jimmy Garoppolo was nearly flawless in his performance against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback boasted a career-high passer rating of 145.8 and went 14-of-20 for 253 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
A game that was supposed to be a hard-fought NFC showdown turned into a blowout thanks to the 49ers' dominant performance.
"I thought Jimmy was great," head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game. "I thought we did very well in the run and the pass game. The opportunities that he had in the pass game, from what I can think back to, seemed pretty flawless.
"I think he protected the ball, weren't close to any picks. I thought he protected the ball when they did get there in pass rush and made some big plays when he had to."
Tight end George Kittle caught 129 of those yards, hauled in one of those touchdowns, and was asked about his quarterback after the game. But it wasn't the impressive numbers that he discussed. It was something Garoppolo did during the game to spark the offense on the way to the team's 10th win of the season.
"I think my favorite thing in the game was -- I think it was after our third drive, we scored right away and then we had two three-and-outs that weren't very good," Kittle shared with reporters after the game. "Jimmy got the whole offense together and was like, 'Hey, we've got to play with intensity. Our defense is playing their asses off, and we've just got to take advantage of those opportunities that they're giving us because Aaron Rodgers is one heck of a quarterback, Hall of Fame quarterback. We just can't give him the opportunity to come back and beat us.'
"That was really awesome, and everything just kind of took off because of what Jimmy said."
The 49ers went on to roll to a 37-8 victory.
The display by Garoppolo is just one example of how good a leader he is for the 49ers. The quarterback's teammates have full confidence in him, and that includes veteran cornerback Richard Sherman.
"Jimmy Garoppolo is our leader, and we will follow him into the darkest of dark," Sherman said after the game. "We'll follow him into a dark alley, and I guarantee you won't touch him."
Kittle has always praised Garoppolo's leadership skills and is likely one of those players who would follow him into any dark alley.
"I think I've said it multiple times," Kittle continued. "He's the best leader I've ever been around, but when he does that, it definitely gets everyone fired up. His voice carried a lot of weight, and just having him do that definitely gets us going."
