Garoppolo Shows Rust in Fourth-Quarter Loss
San Francisco 49ers fall to the Arizona Cardinals in Season Opener
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) passes against the Arizona Cardinals during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
2020.09.13 – Jimmy Garoppolo began this season with a bit of fourth-quarter rust. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback fell short of a late comeback and lost the season opener 24-20 to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
San Francisco broke out to a 10-0 lead in less than six minutes and then sputtered most of the rest of the way on offense and couldn’t contain Murray and DeAndre Hopkins on defense.
“It’s just a reminder that we’re back at football,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “That’s how football goes. We had a number of chances to win that game. We started off pretty well. I thought we had a chance to run away with it in the first half.”
But they weren’t able to maintain that after Garoppolo’s 76-yard TD pass to Raheem Mostert on the opening play of the second drive made it 10-0.
2020.09.13 – The Playbook – SF 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals (Video)
2020.09.13 – The Playbook – SF 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals (Video)
Mitch Wishnowsky had a punt blocked to set up an Arizona touchdown, Mostert got stuffed on fourth-and-goal from the 1 and the offense put together only one sustained scoring drive the rest of the way.
The Niners were unable to keep up with Arizona’s QB Kyler Murray after Murray’s 22-yard scramble early in the fourth quarter gave the Cardinals a 17-13 lead, Garoppolo led an impressive drive capped by a 5-yard TD pass to Jerick McKinnon that put San Francisco back on top.
But the defense couldn’t hold it as Murray’s 33-yard pass to DeAndre Hopkins set up Kenyan Drake’s 1-yard TD run and the Niners were unable to answer.
2020.09.13 – San Francisco 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals (Video)
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) runs past San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman (25) to score a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Josie Lepe)
2020.09.13 – San Francisco 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals (Video)
Garoppolo drove San Francisco down the field before Patrick Peterson broke up a pass to Kendrick Bourne in the end zone. Garoppolo then missed Trent Taylor on fourth-and-5 from the 16 to end the comeback attempt.
“We were in that situation plenty of times last year. When you get in those situations, obviously it was a little different today without the crowd, that game-day feel just wasn’t there. It just comes down to execution. Especially in the last couple of minutes like that, every play is crucial, every yard is crucial. We just didn’t execute when we needed to.”
Garoppolo led the Niners on four fourth-quarter comebacks, including one against Arizona, last season to help the Niners win 13 games and make it to the Super Bowl.
But he fell apart down the stretch against the Chiefs with a 2.8 passer rating in the fourth quarter as the Niners saw a 20-10 lead turn into a 31-20 defeat.
That loss served as fuel all offseason as San Francisco hoped to get back to that stage again and finish the job. But that quest didn’t get off to a great start.
The Niners averaged only 4.8 yards per play after the first two drives as the offense sorely missed injured receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. Tight end George Kittle also played through a leg injury suffered in the first half but wasn’t targeted once after halftime.
The defense was on the field for 78 plays on a smoky afternoon because of wildfires and wilted at the end. Murray ran for 91 yards and threw for 230 more, including 14 completions for 151 yards to Hopkins.
“It’s very frustrating,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “You play certain plays almost perfectly, and then he still gets a first down. You have plays stopped and he scrambles and takes it for a first down. It’s certainly a different challenge than usual, just an added dimension. But in this division, you have to deal with some pretty good quarterbacks. So, we could do a lot better.”
2020.09.15 – En español : El programa “Los 49ers” (Video)
Related – See below : – 49ers come up short in season-opening loss
– 49ers Week 1 Film Breakdown: Bad Jimmy’s Day
Read more at: San Francisco 49ers Media Services / More AP NFL: www.apnews.com/tag/NFL
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49ers come up short in season-opening loss
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo reacts on the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
2020.09.14 – The San Francisco 49ers still had a chance to win despite several missed chances on offense and a defense that wilted late against Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals.
But with the game in Jimmy Garoppolo’s hands, the Niners quarterback came up short once again.
Garoppolo missed an open receiver in the end zone and was off-target on a fourth-down pass on the final drive, sending the Niners to a season-opening 24-20 loss to Arizona on Sunday.
“You don’t always hit guys perfectly in stride,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday. “You under throw a ball and it makes it not perfect so the receiver has to go and make a play and they didn’t. But there’s nothing more to it. It’s pretty simple. He under threw it just a hair on both of them. Guys still had chances, but it would’ve been a real good play if they’d made it.”
The first of those came with the Niners at the Arizona 21 and less than two minutes to play. Kendrick Bourne got free behind Patrick Peterson in the end zone but the pass was short and bounced off Peterson’s helmet.
It was reminiscent of an overthrow on a deep shot to Emmanuel Sanders in the Super Bowl that turned a potential go-ahead score into an incompletion that led to a 31-20 loss to Kansas City back in February.
Garoppolo had one more shot on fourth-and-5 from the 16 but threw the ball behind Trent Taylor, allowing Byron Murphy to break up the pass to seal the win.
“I can’t really put my finger on one (play) right now, but there’s a number of them,” Garoppolo said when asked what play he’d want back. “Missed throws, missed opportunities we usually make.”
Garoppolo finished 19 for 33 for 259 yards and two TDs but was hurt by a lack of production from his wideouts. With Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk injured, Garoppolo was only 4 for 11 for 41 yards on passes to wide receivers, getting most of his production from his running backs.
2020.09.17 – 49ers Week 1 Film Breakdown: Bad Jimmy’s Day
2020.09.17 – 49ers Week 1 Film Breakdown: Bad Jimmy’s Day
WHAT’S WORKING
The start. The Niners started fast, driving for a field goal on the opening drive of the game and then scoring on a 76-yard pass from Garoppolo to Raheem Mostert on the first play of the second drive.
WHAT NEEDS HELP
Third-down offense. The 49ers converted only 2 of 11 third-down chances (18.2%) for their worst efficiency since going 1 for 8 in Week 12 of 2018 against Tampa Bay. Last season the Niners ranked fifth best in the league by converting 45% of third downs. Garoppolo was just 4 for 10 for 34 yards on third downs with only two conversions.
“Obviously we didn’t have a good enough plan and then it goes to everyone else,” Shanahan said. “They did a good job in their defense. They had a good third down plan, but I know we can do better than that.”
STOCK UP
Jerick McKinnon. After going 966 days without playing in an NFL game, McKinnon had a promising debut with the 49ers. He was signed in 2018 to be the featured back, but missed his first two seasons in San Francisco with knee injuries. He had three carries for 24 yards and three catches for 20 yards, including a 5-yard TD in the fourth quarter.
“It’s great to be back out there with my team and go to war with those guys because they’ve definitely been behind me these last two years,” McKinnon said.
STOCK DOWN
Dante Pettis. The third-year receiver was looking for a new slate after being made inactive for the Super Bowl. He got the start because of injuries but made no impact. He ran 30 pass patterns, according to Pro Football Focus, and was targeted only once with no catches. In the past nine games Pettis has been active, he has no catches on four targets.
INJURED
All-Pro TE George Kittle played through a sprained knee in the second half and the Niners will see how it feels Wednesday before deciding his fate this week. … WR Richie James Jr. left in the second half with a hamstring injury. … Aiyuk missed the game with a hamstring injury but Shanahan expects him back this week. … Samuel went on IR after a setback with his broken foot. Shanahan expects him back in Week 4. … Shanahan didn’t rule out bringing in free agent Mohamed Sanu as a possible option at receiver.
KEY NUMBER
23. San Francisco CB Richard Sherman lined up on the defensive right side of the field 23 times Sunday, nearly twice as many as the 12 times he did it all of last season, according to NFL NextGen Stats. Sherman said he was being deployed to the wide side of the field rather than staying in his usual spot on the left side. He did a much better job against DeAndre Hopkins, holding him to three catches for 22 yards on 15 pass plays. Hopkins had 10 catches for 96 yards on 22 pass plays against Emmanuel Moseley.
NEXT STEPS
The 49ers have a two-game trip to New York starting with a game against the Jets on Sunday. They will spend the week in West Virginia and then play the Giants on September 27.
Related: 2019 San Francisco 49ers rally past Cardinals 36-26
Read more at: San Francisco 49ers Media Services / More AP NFL: www.apnews.com/tag/NFL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the San Francisco 49ers, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
49ERS FIT – Free 4-Day Pass
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