Did Jimmy Garoppolo Prove Why the 49ers are Looking Toward the Future?

Garoppolo’s subpar performance against the Broncos may have displayed why the 49ers wanted to move on.

On Sunday night, the 49ers took on the Broncos, looking to attain a winning record through the first three weeks of the regular season. Going into the game, things seemed hopeful for the 49ers, as the Broncos lost to the Seahawks in Week 1 and barely scraped by a rebuilding Texans squad. Unfortunately, the 49ers were led by Jimmy Garoppolo and, as the saying goes, history did repeat itself.

Jimmy Garoppolo’s career can honestly be summed up in one word: inconsistency. Sometimes, Garoppolo actually looks like a starting quarterback. For instance, Garoppolo posted above a 50 adjusted QBR rating 11 times last season, but also had six under that mark, including three under 40. Garoppolo struggles to find consistency and this continues to plague not only him but his team. Despite a tremendous defensive performance on Sunday night, the 49ers fell to the Broncos by a score of 11-10. Whether you choose to blame this game on Garoppolo or a multitude of factors, chances are you aren’t wrong.

On Sunday night, Garoppolo went 18-29, 211 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. That doesn’t sound like a horrible stat line until you look at his adjusted QBR, which was a jaw-dropping 14.2. In my last column, I mentioned that despite his chemistry with the team and his veteran experience, I did not see the team getting any better. While it is one game, it looks like that may be the case.

Arguably the most jaw-dropping play of the game came when Garoppolo stepped in the back of the endzone for a safety which, funny enough, negated a pick-six that he threw in that same play. As much as the argument that Garoppolo is better than Trey Lance because he’s more experienced gets thrown around… that’s a rookie mistake.

One last notable thing to take into account is a possible lack of accountability coming from Garoppolo. NBC’s cameras picked up on Garoppolo frustrated while walking off the field before a drive, in which he had this to say: “All your plays suck, man!” Now clearly, this is in a moment of frustration, but for a quarterback to be saying this while playing putridly… not a good sign.

To end off, I want to make it clear that nobody should outright root for the downfall of Jimmy Garoppolo. At the end of the day, fans should want him to succeed so that the team can follow suit. But if things do not get better, it would be a disgrace to the rest of the talent on the roster to keep throwing out a middling quarterback.