Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Videos are auto-populated by an affiliate. This site has no control over the videos that appear above.
"It held up," Jimmy Garoppolo said of his injured right thumb after the San Francisco 49ers' 23-17 playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys. "Pretty much the same as last week. I mean, it's a day-to-day fight."
The torn ligament and chipped bone in Garoppolo's thumb may have contributed to the quarterback's costly fourth-quarter interception. Garoppolo was targeting wide receiver Trent Sherfield, but the football ended up in the hands of Cowboys cornerback Anthony Brown.
"
I didn't grip it the right way," Garoppolo later told NBC Sports' Peter King. "Not trying to make excuses, but things happen like that. Really not too much more to it than that."
Garoppolo owned up to another costly mistake—the false start on tackle
Trent Williams. Williams could not believe the call, looking around in disbelief after the penalty, campaigning for a correction. It looked as though Garoppolo had successfully converted a fourth-and-one with a quarterback sneak, sealing the win, but the penalty gave Dallas life.
"It was a quarterback sneak all the way, but Jimmy got real excited because of the look but didn't let Trent get set," head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game. "He's got to let him get set. It ended up not being a problem, though. I was going to struggle answering [questions about the play] if we lost. But yeah, Jimmy's got to let him get set. It didn't look to me like he false started. He just didn't get in his stance yet."
Garoppolo told King, "That's on me. I was over-zealous there."
A win is a win, and the 49ers will head to Lambeau Field to face the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round. It's a rematch of the Week 3 Packers win at Levi's Stadium. But, for Green Bay and its fans, it's really a rematch of their last playoff meeting, an embarrassing 27-20 loss in the NFC Championship Game following the 2019 season.
For the 49ers, it's another opportunity to prove themselves and play better football.
"We know we have things we need to get better at, and we need to execute better, but winning is winning when you're in the playoffs," tight end
George Kittle said. "And we have an opportunity next week to go out and win again. We have an awesome opportunity versus the Packers. ... I'm really excited about it."
As for Garoppolo, he's had to listen to the criticisms all season. The 49ers drafted his replacement, which made the situation awkward—at least from an external view. Garoppolo has handled the situation with class, though.
"I think a big part of it is just knowing who you are—as a player and a person, really," Garoppolo told King. "That will take you a long way. It's kind of a big part of just my mental game. I know what type of quarterback I am. I know what type of player I am in this league and where I stand. All the noise out there and everything, keep it coming. It fuels me, and it keeps me going. It's a good thing when people are talking about you."
Related News
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
The San Francisco 49ers are hosting several draft prospects this week as the deadline for pre-draft visits draws near. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the team will host former Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley on Wednesday.
Corley is expected to be a Day 2 pick. San Francisco owns two selections on Day 2—the No. 63 overall pick in the second round and the No. 94 overall pick in the third round. Currently, the receiver is visiting with the Seattle Seahawks.
Western Kentucky @WKUFootball receiver Malachi Worley
Ian Rapoport didn't offer much of an update on the ongoing contract negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and their standout wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk. However, the NFL insider emphasized one thing: The team is not entertaining trade discussions at this juncture.
Reacting to Aiyuk's decision to unfollow the 49ers on Instagram, Rapoport couldn't help but chuckle at the latest development. This practice has become commonplace among players who are unhappy with their contract situations. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel similarly took this action in 2022 before requesting to be traded just before the draft.
Things have yet to escalate that far with Aiyuk, but Rapoport sees his
Analyst Dane Brugler recently revealed his seven-round mock draft for The Athletic, forecasting all 257 selections in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft, set to kick off next week.
"Piecing together a mock like this is time consuming, but I enjoy the exercise, because it allows me to focus on each team's needs, organizational trends and prospect-team pairings that make sense based on '30' visits, league buzz and overall interest," Brugler wrote.
Most expect the 49ers to address the trenches early in the draft, and Brugler has the team doing that. It's just not on the offensive side of the football. In fact, Brugler doesn't have San Francisco
