Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has — probably unfairly — shouldered much of the blame for the San Francisco 49ers' collapse against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV. The criticisms being fair or not will depend on whom you ask.
Garoppolo had an MVP-level performance for much of the game. The quarterback couldn't get anything going late in the game, however, with the 49ers clinging to a 10-point lead.
Garoppolo completed just three of his 11 passes for 36 yards, an interception, and a passer rating of 2.8 in the fourth quarter as the Chiefs rallied and scored 21 unanswered points in a matter of minutes.
There is a lot of blame to pass around, but one person who doesn't blame Garoppolo is Kyle Shanahan. The head coach knows the 49ers probably wouldn't have even been in the Super Bowl if not for his quarterback.
"I think Jimmy deserves a ton of credit for what he did this year," Shanahan told reporters on Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. "I think people talk a little bit about how he was coming off an ACL (injury), but I also don't think that people realize that was his first (full) year playing quarterback in this league. ... This was his first time going through a full season. He had less games than (Browns quarterback) Baker Mayfield going into his second year.
"To do that with the pressure of also everyone thinking you've already arrived, and coming off an ACL; I thought there was as much pressure on him at the beginning of the year as anyone I've been around. And he just took it, handled it all year, and got better throughout the year, and I was very impressed with him."
Some within the media have wondered whether or not the 49ers might decide to move on from Garoppolo. To many, those questions seem like an overreaction. During his time at the podium in Indianapolis, general manager John Lynch offered up a vote of confidence in Garoppolo.
"We're extremely proud of Jimmy and committed to Jimmy moving forward," Lynch said Tuesday. "He's our guy. As I've said, from the day he walked into our building, he made us better, and we continue to feel that's the case. And that's the most exciting think about him, is the room for growth. He's not come close to hitting his ceiling."