The San Francisco 49ers put on a show on Sunday against the New England Patriots. It was a homecoming of sorts for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who played for Bill Belichick during his first three-and-a-half NFL seasons and was once seen as the successor to future Hall of Famer Tom Brady.
There is no more Brady in New England, but there remains the mastermind behind several championships, Belichick. Kyle Shanahan dominated the chess match between the two coaches as the surging 49ers routed the Patriots 33-6, handing Belichick his worst home loss at Gillette Stadium.
Did Shanahan have a little something extra to prove against Belichick and the Patriots? Was there a different mentality heading into the matchup against a one-time Goliath of an opponent?
"Yes and no," tight end George Kittle responded after the game. "I feel like we have that mindset every single week, and Kyle always brings it. That's what I love about him. He definitely was on a hot streak tonight. He was calling play after play after play that they couldn't stop, and I just love seeing that. I love being a part of that.
"But I think everyone was fired up for this game. It was our team's first experience here in New England. We were all just fired up to play. It was great football weather. It was perfect. That's what you dream [of], and now you get to come into this house and put some points on those boys, and it was really fun for us."
As for Garoppolo's return to New England, the often even-keeled quarterback was the same guy he is every day. Heading to his old NFL stomping grounds didn't change that.
"It's the same every single week," Kittle said of his quarterback. "I don't know if it was any different. He was locked in during the week, locked into the game plan, leads our guys every single play, every single time we're in the huddle. He just gives us that energy to go out there and dominate."
Garoppolo finished the day 20-of-25 for 277 yards with two interceptions. Although, one came in the closing seconds of the first half as the quarterback took a shot at furthering the 49ers' lead heading into the locker room.
The quarterback was asked about delivering Belichick his worst home loss with the Patriots.
"It never was really in my mind," Garoppolo responded. "I obviously wanted to come in here and get a win, but to me, it didn't matter if we won by one or if we won by 100. Just go and get the win. And that was the mindset we had this week, the same thing we had last week, and we've just got to keep that mindset the rest of the season."
Next up for San Francisco will be a Week 8 matchup at CenturyLink Field against the division-leading Seattle Seahawks.