The San Francisco 49ers couldn’t finish the job and beat the Los Angeles Rams to reach the Super Bowl for the second time in three years. Once again, Jimmy Garoppolo’s lackluster performance held Kyle Shanahan’s team back.
Deebo Samuel made plays left and right and bailed the Niners’ pedestrian offense out more often than not. Their defense put a lot of pressure on Matthew Stafford and the running game, and the special teams excelled when called upon.
But at the end of the day, it all came down to Garoppolo again. And, as per usual, he failed to deliver. A game-sealing pick put an end to the 49ers’ playoff run in what was most likely his final snap with the team.
Kyle Shanahan Won’t Make A Farewell Statement On Jimmy Garoppolo
Even so,Kyle Shanahan refused to blame Garoppolo for the loss or address his future. Instead, he showed nothing but support for his quarterback and showed how much he cares about him:
“I love Jimmy,” said Shanahan. “I’m not going to make a farewell statement or anything like that right now. That’s the last stuff on my mind. Jimmy has battled his **s off, battled today. Did some unbelievable things today and I love coaching Jimmy.”
Garoppolo Weighs In On Uncertain Future
Garoppolo, albeit emotional, was a little more pragmatic than Shanahan. He knows he was on the hot seat and that people will ask for his head in the offseason, so he just looked back on his tenure in the Bay area:
“That’s a tough way to end it, especially just the way we battled that whole game,” Garoppolotold the media after the game. “We knew it was going to be a dog fight. It always is against these guys.”
“It’s just one of those things you’ve got to be glad it happened, smile from it and think about the good things,” he added. “We’ll see what happens in these next couple days, weeks whatever, but I love this team — just the fight and the battle in this team has been really impressive all year. I love these guys.”
“It was a roller coaster of a year, it really was,” Garoppolo said. “But we fought through it. We were a resilient team, and that’s what good teams do: You fight through things like that and come out better on the other end from it.”
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Chances are that Garoppolo’s days as a starter are over now, even if he stays with the 49ers. He did little to prove that he can lead an NFL offense and Trey Lance is the future of the franchise anyway.
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