Garoppolo Back on Top – 49ers beat Rams
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) celebrates after scoring against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
2020.10.18 – Jimmy Garoppolo finds himself back on top as he threw three TD passes in the first half and preserve the lead to give the San Francisco 49ers a 24-16 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night.
Garoppolo looked more confident and mobile as he battled through his Sept. 20 right ankle sprain, and he can thank the offensive line for its best protection of the season. The 49ers QB even had a third-down scramble to set up a 49-yard field goal by Robbie Gould with 5:26 left.
“We battled tonight. It was a dogfight and that’s the way we wanted it,” Garoppolo said on NBC’s postgame show.
2020.10.18 – San Francisco 49ers vs. LA Rams (Playbook Video)
2020.10.18 – San Francisco 49ers vs. LA Rams (Playbook Video)
Coach Kyle Shanahan’s play calls also helped keep Garoppolo out of danger. Garoppolo has never lost back-to-back starts. This also served as a warmup for his return to New England. A 2014 second-round draft pick by the Patriots, he served 3 1/2 years as Tom Brady’s backup before a 2017 Halloween trade to the 49ers.
Jimmy G and the 49ers bounced back from a lopsided loss and showed the banged-up defending NFC champions aren’t ready to pack it in quite yet.
“Whenever you get embarrassed like we did last week you can find out a lot about your team,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Usually when stuff like that happens, guys either give in and try to hide or guys try to step up and get better.”
Garoppolo got pulled at halftime last week in a 43-17 loss to Miami after struggling on a bum ankle, raising questions if the injury-riddled Niners (3-3) would be able to contend in the NFC West after back-to-back home losses to the Dolphins and Philadelphia.
But Garoppolo staked the Niners to a 21-6 halftime lead over the Rams (4-2) by relying mostly on short passes and connecting on TDs with Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk.
“It was a different mindset that everyone had,” Garoppolo said. “The couple of weeks before that, no one like that feeling. It wasn’t who we are as a team. This week got us back on track.”
Garoppolo finished his fast start to the game with 3 TDs and 23 for 33 for 268 yards.
San Francisco’s defense stepped up with some key stops in the second half. Los Angeles got in the red zone on its first possession of the third quarter, but settled for a field goal after Andrew Whitworth committed a false start on third-and-1.
The Rams were in position to cut even more into the deficit before Dre Greenlaw stopped Darrell Henderson for a 1-yard loss on second-and-goal from the 1, Cooper Kupp dropped a pass in the end zone on third down and Jason Verrett came up with the interception on fourth down.
“We just got back to playing like we know how to play,” defensive lineman Arik Armstead said.
2020.10.18 – San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams (Video)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) passes between Los Angeles Rams defensive end Aaron Donald (99) and nose tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day (69) during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
2020.10.18 – San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams (Video)
Verrett made the biggest play this season by a 49ers cornerback when he intercepted a fourth-down pass in the end zone with 2:33 remaining in the third quarter. Verrett peeled off his coverage of Robert Woods to snare Goff’s pass to Reynolds near the back of the end zone.
It was Verrett’s first interception since 2016, a career that’s been hindered so much by leg injuries since his 2015 Pro Bowl season for the Chargers. He was making his fourth straight start after missing the first.
Verrett has ended up on injured reserve in five of his six seasons in the NFL and played only 66 defensive snaps the past three years. But now he is helping fill the void created by an injury to Richard Sherman.
Verrett’s interception was part of a rough day overall for Rams QB Jared Goff, who also missed an open Kupp on a deep ball earlier in the second half. Goff went 19 for 38 for 198 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
“Offensively, we just were never able to really get any sort of continuity,” coach Sean McVay said. “We had a lot of missed opps (sic). As a whole, just too many things that we’re not accustomed to doing. You give credit to the Niners, they did a nice job, but we had a lot of our players that we count on that didn’t come through in situations that they typically do.”
NO AIR ON OPENING DRIVE
The 49ers didn’t exactly air it out on the opening drive with all four of Garoppolo’s passes being thrown behind the line of scrimmage. Two were handoffs that counted as passes because the receiver was running in front of Garoppolo and Samuel took one 35 yards and then scored a 6-yard TD on the other. Garoppolo had minus-20 air yards on the drive with 89 yards coming after the catch.
GO FOR IT
One week after getting stopped on an early fourth-and-1 gamble, the Niners converted in a big way. Garoppolo found Kittle on a one-on-one matchup with Darious Williams on a fourth-and-2 play that turned into a 44-yard TD.
On this score, Kittle slipped past cornerback Williams at the 33-yard line and went untouched to the end zone for his second touch- down catch of the season.
Kittle’s touch- down catch assured him a spot in the highlight reel, but a bigger catch came in the fourth quarter on a third-and-8 conversion. Kittle took it for 11 yards to the Rams’ 38 to extend the 49ers’ possession at a vital time. He finished with seven catches for 109 yards.
BLOCKED
Rams kicker Samuel Sloman’s extra point attempt after Goff’s 10-yard TD pass to Robert Woods in the second quarter was blocked by Dion Jordan. That is the third missed PAT this season for Sloman, tied with Kansas City’s Harrison Butker for the most in the NFL. The last Rams kicker to miss three extra points in a season was Mike Lansford in 1988.
FRED DEAN TRIBUTE
The 49ers wore a decal on their helmets to honor Hall of Fame pass rusher Fred Dean. He died this week after contracting the coronavirus.
2020.10.18 – En español : El programa “Los 49ers” (Video)
2020.10.18 – En español : El programa “Los 49ers” (Video)
INJURY REPORT
49ers: RB Raheem Mostert (ankle) S Jaquiski Tartt (groin) and C Ben Garland (calf) all left in the second half and didn’t return.
UP NEXT
Rams: Host Chicago on Monday, Oct. 26.
49ers: (3-3) play four of their next five on the road, starting next Sunday with their first visit since 2012 to the New England Patriots (2-3). After that is the annual showdown at Seattle (5-0) on Nov. 1, a Thursday night affair against Green Bay on Nov. 5, and road trips to the New Orleans and Rams. A Week 11 bye precedes the rematch with the Rams (4-2).
Related – See below: Reed goes on the 49ers’ injured reserve list
Related – See: 49ers Devastating Victory Lose Bosa and Thomas
Read more at: San Francisco 49ers Media Services / More AP NFL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the San Francisco 49ers, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
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Reed goes on the 49ers’ injured reserve list
San Francisco 49ers TE Jordan Reed, center, is sacked by New York Giants (30) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
2020.09.28 – Kyle Shanahan has two of the best tight ends in the league but may have to wait until November to get them back on the field together.
The 49ers head coach on Monday revealed that Jordan Reed suffered an MCL sprain following a low hit in the second quarter of Sunday’s 36-9 rout of the Giants. Reed, who has never played a full 16 games in any of his eight NFL seasons, will be out 6-8 weeks, Shanahan said. The 49ers will place him on injured reserve this week.
Shanahan said he thought Reed, who signed a one-year deal this summer, was “one of the best players on the field” in the 49ers’ Week 2 win over the Jets.
“And he was coming on strong in (Sunday’s) game and was going to be a huge part of it,” Shanahan said. “I know he’s disappointed. But not discouraged. I think he was really liking where he was at. It’s something that’s going to take some time … but is nothing that’s going to affect him after that. Hopefully, we can weather the storm while he’s gone and he’ll come back to a good team.”
Shanahan would not commit to having the team’s other top tight end, George Kittle, in uniform Sunday against the Eagles. Kittle is coming off his own MCL sprain and has missed the last two games. He was limited in three practices last week before being ruled out of the Giants game on Friday.
Reed’s roster spot likely will be taken by receiver Deebo Samuel (foot), who is expected to practice Wednesday. Shanahan said Samuel’s conditioning is good but that he’ll be closely monitored throughout the week before getting a green light to play against Philadelphia. He said Samuel is “pumped” for practice.
“Wednesday will be his first time in a football practice since Super Bowl week,” Shanahan said. “So we’ve got to take that into account also.”
2020.09.27 – San Francisco 49ers vs. New York Giants (Video)
San Francisco 49ers TE Jordan Reed, center, is looked after by 49ers doctors before the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
2020.09.27 – San Francisco 49ers vs. New York Giants (Video)
Other injury news:
• At running back, Shanahan said Jerick McKinnon suffered bruised ribs in the fourth quarter Sunday and is day-to-day. The team will evaluate Raheem Mostert (knee) on Wednesday. Tevin Coleman (knee) is on injured reserve and could miss a month or so. All of that means the 49ers may have to call up rookie JaMycal Hasty from the practice squad on Saturday just as they did last week.
• At cornerback, Emmanuel Moseley is in the concussion protocol after he collided with safety Jaquiski Tartt early in the second quarter. Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring) will be evaluated this week. That points to a second straight start for Jason Verrett, who received high marks against the Giants. In addition, nickel cornerback K’Waun Williams was dealing with “hip discomfort” on Monday and will be evaluated before Wednesday’s practice, Shanahan said.
• At linebacker, the 49ers will place Mark Nzeocha on injured reserve with a quadriceps injury. Nzeocha also is one of the team’s special teams stalwarts. With that in mind, veteran linebacker Joe Walker, who currently is on the practice squad, seems like a logical replacement. Shanahan expects Dre Greenlaw (quadriceps) to miss another game. That means Azeez Al-Shaair will fill in at strongside linebacker against the Eagles and that Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles will be in uniform for a second straight week.
• At defensive end, Shanahan said Dee Ford (back) will miss the Eagles game and possibly several more. He said the 49ers would decide in the next few days whether to put the edge rusher on injured reserve.
Finally, Shanahan said the team would decide on Wednesday whether quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo would practice. He missed all three sessions in West Virginia last week with a high ankle sprain. Shanahan said the quarterback was moving “a lot better” than he was at this time last week.
“But we’re still not sure about Wednesday,” he said. “I know he needs these two days to keep rehabbing and we’ll evaluate it then.”
Shanahan said long snapper Kyle Nelson, who had five bad snaps on Sunday and was replaced by Justin Skule for the game’s final extra point, apologized to the head coach for his performance. Shanahan was sympathetic, noted that Nelson, 33, has been an excellent long snapper for years and told Nelson that the errant snaps didn’t affect the outcome in any way.
Still, the 49ers are looking at their options.
“He understands this business,” Shanahan said. “He understands how the league works and we’re going to bring in some guys (Tuesday) and work ’em out. We’ll see how they look and we’ll decide what’s the best for us going forward.”
Related – See: 49ers Devastating Victory Lose Bosa and Thomas
Read more at: San Francisco 49ers Media Services / More AP NFL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the San Francisco 49ers, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
49ERS FIT – Free 4-Day Pass
EMI Sports Central – EMI Sports Bay Area: Join the conversation on sports news for SF Bay Area teams: Follow @EMIsports on Twitter, “Like” us on Facebook and sign up for our FREE email newsletters.