Jimmy Garoppolo delivered a gutsy, playoff-clinching performance last Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, with help from his elite supporting cast, to send the 49ers to the playoffs, where they'll face the long-time rival Dallas Cowboys in the wildcard round.
While it was uncertain leading up to the Rams game whether Garoppolo would be healthy enough to play given that he suffered a torn UCL ligament in his thumb just two weeks prior, the veteran quarterback looked as if he hadn't ever sustained an injury, and brushed off a sluggish start to bring the 49ers back in the second half en route to a 27-24 victory over their divisional rivals.
While Garoppolo certainly has had his fair share of interceptions this season, including two on Sunday, he's always been a player who isn't fazed by the mistakes and continues to compete, which Kyle Shanahan has certainly noticed.
"Honestly, no differences [to Jimmy's mentality after an interception] than when he throws an interception," Shanahan said on Wednesday. "When you let that ball rip and you're not scared of failing, things don't always go perfect. And you watch a lot of good quarterbacks in this league and some do a really good job of never having picks, which is very rare."
That was certainly evident Sunday, when Garoppolo threw a poor interception into triple coverage and the hands of Jalen Ramsey, potentially giving away the game in the 4th quarter, before rallying back with under 90 seconds and no timeouts to deliver the game-tying touchdown drive.
"But even look at some of the great ones, they're going to get some interceptions, they're aggressive with it," Shanahan responded. "Sometimes when they're like that, you can keep both teams in the game, but usually they get you over the hump if you keep swinging. And that's how Jimmy's always been, sometimes it's better than others, but when you throw the ball like that and if you're not scared to fail, sometimes that stuff happens."
Hopefully, more of the good "stuff" happens this weekend when the 49ers face the Dallas Cowboys, who present as both an offensive and defensive threat, and will likely have to rely on some key Garoppolo throws to remain competitive in this matchup.
Comments