How Jimmy Garoppolo fueled the 49ers’ blowout of Packers with a sideline meeting
The 49ers jumped out a 10-0 lead Sunday night, but it hardly felt safe.
That’s because Aaron Rodgers was on the other sideline, the Packers’ future Hall of Fame quarterback with 15 fourth-quarter comebacks on his resume. And it was the same lead San Francisco wound up squandering two weeks to ago against the Seattle Seahawks.
After two second-quarter drives failed to get first downs and went for minus-8 yards combined, San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo gathered the offense around in a sideline meeting that changed the tenor of the game.
“He said, ‘Hey look, our defense is playing their butts off,” tight end George Kittle told The Bee after his first action since Halloween when he sustained ankle and knee injuries. “’They’re giving us the opportunity and we’re not doing anything with it. So we got to dig in, we got to go as hard as we can and we got to win this game, because they’re giving us every opportunity and we can’t let these guys back in there.’”
The message had its intended result.
The next three series resulted in 13 points to push San Francisco’s lead to 23-0. The home team scored on five of its six possessions to end the game as the 49ers throttled the Packers 37-8 to improve to 10-1.
“He really got the guys fired up,” Kittle said. “His voice carries so much weight.”
Added right tackle Mike McGlinchey to The Bee: “I think it’s because of the person that (Garoppolo) is, the humility that he has. There’s not a lot of guys in his position that do the things that he does as just a normal every day guy. I think that’s part of it. I think he just prepares harder than everybody else. It’s a mix of just being a great football player and a great person. And when you are those things. It’s really easy to fall in line.”
Garoppolo was surprised to be asked about the meeting. The tight-lipped quarterback didn’t know Kittle brought it up in his postgame news conference, nor did he expect the NBC cameras to catch it during the nationally-televised broadcast.
Garoppolo was also good between the lines. He completed 14 of 20 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns, a 42-yard catch and run to emerging rookie Deebo Samuel and a 61-yarder to Kittle, who caught all six of his targets for 129 yards.
“I thought Jimmy was great,” Kyle Shanahan said. “I thought we did very well in the run and the pass game. ... From what I can think back to, (Garoppolo) seemed pretty flawless.”
Garoppolo’s 145.8 passer rating and 12.65 yards per attempt set new career highs. It was the type of performance that’s earned him equity among his teammates to hold impromptu meetings like the one in the second quarter Sunday night.
“I just try to be myself,” Garoppolo said. “I think guys respect that. They’re going to see through you if you try and be fake.”
The win had massive implications for playoff seeding. A loss would have sent the 49ers from the No. 1 seed to the No. 5 seed, giving Seattle, which won in Philadelphia on Sunday, the top spot in the NFC West as they own the tiebreaker from the victory two weeks ago.
San Francisco enters its critical two-game stretch against the Ravens (8-2) and Saints (9-2) on the road still in the driver’s seat for a first-round bye, and they own the tiebreaker over the Packers after the victory Sunday night.
Garoppolo also had help from a defense that throttled Rodgers into one of the least productive performances of his career. His 104 passing yards were his fewest in any start that included 30 pass attempts since he entered the NFL in 2005.
San Francisco sacked Rodgers five times even without Dee Ford, who entered the week third on the team with 6.5 sacks. Arik Armstead had two sacks giving him 10, continuing his career year ahead of free agency. Nick Bosa added his first sack since Oct. 27. Safety Jaquiski Tartt and DeForest Buckner also recorded half sacks.
Safety Jimmie Ward had a pair of third-down pass breakups, including a long attempt from Rodgers to tight end Jimmy Graham that would have put the Packers in San Francisco territory.
The 49ers prevented Rodgers from hurting them with his signature off-schedule plays he makes on a weekly basis.
“You know the term ‘cover them twice?’” Ward asked. “It came from Aaron Rodgers.”
Ward had one of the stronger games of his career. He finished with six tackles but appeared to always be in the right spot. Linebacker Fred Warner continued his run of strong performances recently, recording a game-high 11 tackles, a sack, tackle for loss and a forced fumble on the first series of the game that led to San Francisco getting an early lead.
Warner forced a fumble from Rodgers with a big hit as he was being corralled by Armstead and Buckner. Bosa recovered it at the 2-yard line and running back Tevin Coleman scored a touchdown on San Francisco’s first offensive snap less than two minutes into the game.
The Packers had three-straight three-and-outs following the fumble and never got on track. They had 9 net passing yards in the first half thanks. San Francisco allowed just 198 yards from scrimmage marking the fourth time all season the defense yielded fewer than 200 yards.
The 49ers ran just 45 offensive plays, 15 fewer than their previous low in the season opener against Tampa Bay, in large part because of touchdowns drives that lasted one, three and two plays, respectively.
The running game got back on track, amassing 112 yards on 22 carries (5.1-yard average) after slogging for a 2.6 yard average on 46 carries the past two games. Garoppolo completed his first six passes using play action for 122 yards and a score, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, signaling the importance of having a potent running game.
The Packers got a touchdown from receiver Davante Adams on their first drive of the second half after the 49ers had a third-down stop negated by a personal foul on Richard Sherman that happened away from Rodgers’ scramble near the left sideline. Sherman pushed down running back Aaron Jones as Rodgers made himself a runner.
But San Francisco responded immediately with Kittle’s 61-yard score to make it 30-8. Kittle executed a double move, getting cornerback Kevin King turned around and Garoppolo hit him in stride, allowing Kittle to win the race toward the pylon.
The win was a clear statement to those who questioned the 49ers’ viability as a Super Bowl contender. Sunday’s win marked the first time San Francisco had beaten a team currently seeded in the NFC playoff race. It’s best win previously was against the 6-4 Rams in October.
Shanahan was asked about how he thought his players responded to the moment on a national stage.
“I’ve been impressed with our guys since we got together in OTAs,” Shanahan said. “We got a lot of wins early, which I think a lot of people didn’t expect. And when that does happen, you always worry if it’s going to people. But our guys haven’t changed at all. I think they’ve got even more locked in, even more focused. Our guys aren’t just in here pumped about where they’re at, they’re pumped about the possibilities of where we can go.”
This story was originally published November 25, 2019 at 12:01 AM.
