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SANTA CLARA — Only three quarterbacks have bounced back from losing their Super Bowl debut to capture a ring or two: Len Dawson, Bob Griese and John Elway.
Jimmy Garoppolo will get a chance to do so with the 49ers.
Coach Kyle Shanahan said Thursday he’s just as strong a supporter of Garoppolo as he was prior to Sunday’s Super Bowl defeat. Garoppolo and the 49ers defense struggled mightily en route to blowing a 20-10 fourth quarter lead in an eventual 31-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
“He was on his way to winning Super Bowl MVP. We all didn’t make those plays toward the end,” Shanahan said. “We made those plays all year, our whole team, that’s one of the reasons we were there. Whenever you don’t make those plays at the end of the game like that, first and foremost the quarterback is going to get attacked, and then usually the play caller. We understand that’s how it goes.”
Two years ago, Garoppolo signed a then-record contract (five years, $137.5 million) after going 5-0 in his 49ers starting debut in December 2017.
This past season, Garoppolo started every game for the first time in his career, one that got put on hold in September 2018 because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in Week 3.
“Jimmy’s one of the main reasons we got to the Super Bowl. He overcame a lot,” Shanahan said. “This was his first year in his career going through an entire NFL season. He still doesn’t have as many starts as Baker Mayfield.”
Actually, they’ve both made 29 starts; Garoppolo is 21-5 plus 2-1 in the playoffs while the Cleveland Browns’ Mayfield is 12-17. But we get the point.
“He had a hell of a first year playing that position, especially coming off an ACL,” Shanahan added. “You have to fight through that as a quarterback when the rhythm is not there at the beginning of the year. For him to be like that and to not let pressure get to him and improve as the year went, it says a ton about Jimmy.
“I can’t tell you how much I love coaching the guy as a player and as a person.”
As the 49ers players packed up their lockers Wednesday, Garoppolo took ownership of his and the 49ers’ woes, and he also optimistically looked ahead to a 2020 season that should include most of the same supporting cast.
“The age of most of these guys, we’re a pretty young team, in general,” Garoppolo said. “Just a lot of encouraging things. Coaches, players, front office — how it’s all tied together, it makes for a pretty special group.”
