Peter King went through his list of "Goats of the Week" in his latest Football Morning in America column for NBC Sports. No, not G.O.A.T., as in the greatest of all time. Although, one of those — Tom Brady — was on the list for his fourth-quarter mishap against the Chicago Bears. It's for the scapegoats, or those bearing much of the blame, of the week.
Another quarterback — Jimmy Garoppolo of the San Francisco 49ers — made King's list. The 49ers signal-caller was returning after missing two games due to a high-ankle sprain. Garoppolo earned a career-low passer rating of 15.7 before being benched at halftime and replaced with C.J. Beathard.
Here is what King had to say about Garoppolo's performance.
"With a quarterback line like a classic Ryan Leaf line—7 of 17 passing for 77 yards, no TDs, two interceptions, 15.7 rating—Garoppolo, the jillionaire passer, got yanked at halftime for C.J. Beathard (1-9 as a starter) in a humiliating 43-17 San Francisco loss. The 49ers may very well not be who we thought they were, and Garoppolo is proving definitively that the football world was right to have significant questions about his ability during a shaky playoff run last season."
King, of course, is referencing the criticism Garoppolo drew following last season's playoff run when head coach Kyle Shanahan took the football out of the quarterback's hands and relied heavily on the 49ers' rushing attack to get to the Super Bowl. A poor fourth-quarter performance by Garoppolo in the big game only gave his critics more offseason ammo.
After Sunday's embarrassing 43-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area questioned Shanahan's decision to play Garoppolo, who clearly hadn't completely recovered from his injury.
"If at halftime, you determine that he's not good enough or he can't protect himself, why was he starting this game?" Maiocco asked. "He didn't make it through a complete practice on Wednesday or Thursday. Why was he out there playing if he couldn't protect himself? Then that became apparent in the first half of this game."
Garoppolo is in his fourth season with the 49ers and is signed through the 2022 season.