Jimmy Garoppolo struggled immensely in the 49ers’ 20-17 loss to the Titans on Thursday night.
While he finished with 322 yards through the air and a touchdown, Garoppolo threw two costly interceptions, nearly threw two more picks and missed an open teammate for a touchdown. His first interception came with San Francisco in the red zone, when Garoppolo forced a pass to George Kittle who had no chance of reaching tight end.
MORE: How the 49ers’ loss affects the NFC wild-card race
“[It was] George and I are not on the same page, “Garoppolo said after the game.” I have to get it right, complete it and it should be a touchdown. He played the corner quite well. We should have had a touchdown there. “
Garoppolo also missed an easy chance to hit fullback Kyle Juszczyk for a touchdown, which would have given the 49ers a bigger cushion heading into halftime. He then threw his second interception during the 49ers’ first drive in the second half. That selection led to a Titans touchdown.
The 30-year-old’s greatest difficulties came when he attempted to throw deep or intermediate passes in the middle of the field. Both interceptions came on passes that traveled more than five yards in the air, and he nearly threw two more interceptions on bad passes down the middle.
# 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo tonight:
20-22, 186 yards, TD on pitches of 5 or fewer passing yards
6-13, 136 yards, 2 int on pitches over 5 yards passing
– Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) December 24, 2021
San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t seem overly concerned about Garoppolo’s performance. His comments on Garoppolo’s performance can be seen below.
However, many Twitter users did not feel the same. Many fans were calling for rookie backup quarterback Trey Lance to enter the game, and even replace Garoppolo for the remainder of the season.
I still can’t believe Jimmy Garoppolo missed that wide throw to Kyle Juszczyk for a touchdown. A high school quarterback throws that pitch.
– Grant Cohn (@grantcohn) December 24, 2021
Jimmy Garoppolo flips him twice, Kyle Shanahan makes questionable decisions on the fourth down and the # 49ers Cornerbacks struggle to cover a star catcher. The same problems crop up over and over for this team.
– Chris Biderman (@ChrisBiderman) December 24, 2021
Jimmy Garoppolo has that special trait of being overrated and underrated at the same time. No matter which side you believe on, you’ll be right at some point
– Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) December 24, 2021
Jimmy Garoppolo has no one to blame but himself for this loss. He only brought the Titans back to life after they had lost three of their last four games.
– Grant Cohn (@grantcohn) December 24, 2021
With the loss to the Titans, the 49ers fell to 8-7, but remained the sixth seed in the NFC playoffs image. They will face the Texans in Week 17 and the Rams in Week 18 to end their season.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.