Jimmy Garoppolo clearly wasn't right after missing the last two games due to a high-ankle sprain. He looked off during the entire first half of Sunday's matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins — a game the Niners lost 43-17.
Things got out of control early, and the 49ers found themselves in a massive hole at halftime. With Garoppolo struggling, head coach Kyle Shanahan decided to put in C.J. Beathard during the second half.
"Just the way the whole game was going, just kind of watching how we were playing as a whole, how he was playing," Shanahan after the game. "You could tell he was affected by his ankle... I know he doesn't normally throw the ball that way, and I think he was struggling a little bit because of it. The way the game was going, I wasn't going to keep putting him in those positions knowing we were going to have to throw it a lot to come back."
Garoppolo said the ankle wasn't impacting everything, but there were issues. That was surprising to the quarterback, considering he felt he had a good week of practice. There was never a moment Garoppolo thought he wouldn't play against the Dolphins.
"The ankle was feeling fine before the game," the quarterback told reporters. "It was a tough one today."
Once the game started, though, the ankle became a problem and remained a problem while he was out there.
Added Garoppolo: "I wanted to be out there. I'm the quarterback of this team. It's my job to be out there and put this team in a position to be successful. Kyle made the decision at halftime. He's the head coach, and I followed it. It was just tough. I wanted to be out there with my guys battling."
Does Garoppolo plan to play next weekend against the Los Angeles Rams? Now owning a 2-3 record, the 49ers are in danger of having their season spiral out of control.
"I really haven't thought that far ahead," Garoppolo said. "I guess we'll just take it day by day with the ankle and see how it goes."
The 49ers move forward, will try to find their identity again, and do so with a bit more of a sense of urgency. They will look at the film on Monday, be hard on themselves, and then move on, as they always do, said Garoppolo.
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