For a while, Jimmy Garoppolo tried to pretend that Sunday was just another game. But that changed when he arrived in Foxborough, and even more so when the San Francisco 49ers pulled into Gillette Stadium to play his former team, the New England Patriots.
"Seeing the stadium, seeing similar things," Garoppolo told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, "hearing they still play the same songs in between quarters and at the beginning of games. It brought back a lot of memories."
The 49ers ended up soundly beating the Patriots 33-6. San Francisco defeated New England in every facet of the game.
The dominating performance puts the 49ers' season back on track with a critical division matchup against the Seattle Seahawks coming up. For Garoppolo, the locker room's atmosphere and chemistry are reminiscent of his time in New England, which will make the challenge easier. That certainly wasn't the case when he first arrived with Kyle Shanahan's squad in 2017.
"The standard when I first came here wasn't set or anything like that," Garoppolo said. "We had a really young team. But as guys got older, we kind of have that. It's hard to put your finger on that. But the leaders and captains are setting the example. This is how we play, this is what we do. It just puts your team in a good spot. It allows the coaches to coach, and it allows the players to play.
"That part definitely [is like New England]. Just holding each other accountable is something our players do great. We don't really rely on the coaches, whether it's discipline or something like that, players handle it in-house, and I think that's the best way to do it."
Garoppolo credits the 49ers rushing attack for much of the team's success, noting that it starts with the coaches and then finishes with the players who execute the game plan. San Francisco owns the No. 7 rushing attack when it comes to yards per game and has run for the fourth-most yards in the NFL.
"When you can do that, that's how you sustain injuries and things like that throughout a season, especially in this COVID season," Garoppolo added. "There's just so many injuries, so many weird things going on. But when you have a system like that and guys who can buy into it and run it, it makes for a successful team."
The 49ers enter Week 8 with a 4-3 record and hopes of climbing back atop the NFC West.