It was setting up to be the perfect farewell to 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. All his failings were on full view in the NFC divisional playoff game Saturday. The inability to get anything going offensively for much of the game. Another brutal drive-killing interception. Leading an offense that was going nowhere fast.
A bum thumb and shoulder. Freezing cold conditions. It was a lot to ask of the beleaguered quarterback. No hard feelings. His performance was making the inevitable split much more cut and dry. The 49ers were going to thank Jimmy G for his services, give him a heartfelt handshake, they’d look each other in the eye, acknowledge his professionalism and the team and the quarterback would part ways, amicably, thus beginning the transition to Trey Lance.
But then Jimmy G does what he does. Despite all his shortcomings, despite his limitations, despite seemingly always injured, despite all the hate and denigration he takes from football fans, he came out late in the fourth quarter and did what Jimmy G does: the guy just wins. Period.
Forget the stats. Forget all the negative numbers associated with Jimmy G. Instead look at his won-loss record — he’s 31-14 with the 49ers and 4-1 in the playoffs.
It’s not pretty and it was by no means consistent, but when he needed to, Garoppolo stepped up. He completed two passes, both for first downs, on the game-winning drive, showing there is more to being a quarterback than just passing numbers. Leadership is not something you can quantify with a number, but can you deny that Garoppolo’s got it?
Garoppolo isn’t perfect and I’m sure he’ll still make a mistake Sunday against the Rams in the NFC championship game that will have Niners Nation screaming at their televisions. But Jimmy G will just shrug it off and move on. To the next play and to next season — wherever that may be.
***
After a series of mostly wild-card duds, the quarterfinals of the NFL playoffs over the weekend are the stuff on which legends are made. As a football fan, you could not have asked for a better quartet of playoff games.
All four were decided on the final play and, if you timed it just right, you could have caught all the excitement without sitting through 12 hours of football over the weekend.
I was one of those lucky ones who timed it perfectly. Aside from the appointed watching of the 49ers-Packers game Saturday night, I managed to catch the fourth quarters — and in the case of the Chiefs and Bills, overtime — and got to watch the drama in all its glory.
No. 4 Bengals 16, No. 1 Titans 13
First of all, has there ever been a softer No. 1 seed in the playoffs than the Tennessee Titans?
I turned this game on just in time to see the Titans notch their ninth sack of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. I remember it vividly because I asked the TV out loud, “ Did they just say NINTH sack?!”
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That was followed by a punt and when the scoreboard graphic showed up — 16-16 — I thought, “Here we go.”
And then the Titans fell apart. QB Ryan Tannehill was picked off, allowing Burrow and the Bengals, with less than 30 seconds to play, to drive into field goal range and pull off the upset, 19-16, on a 52-yard field goal.
No. 6 49ers 13, No. 1 Packers 10
Somehow, some way, the 49ers managed to shut down the Green Bay offense and did just enough on offense and a whole lot of special teams to pull off the biggest upset of the playoffs. I watched this one from beginning to end, but if you just checked in for the fourth quarter, you saw all you needed to see.
No. 4 Rams 30, No. 2 Buccaneers 27
I watched most of this game, but didn’t really start paying attention in earnest until the fourth quarter. But as the Rams were driving for a potential touchdown at the end of the first half, already leading 20-3, I said out loud, to no one in particular, “The Rams can’t blow this one, can they?”
Then they fumbled the ball away.
No problem. The Rams built a 27-3 lead through the third quarter as Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady suddenly was looking like a 44-year-old NFL player. But in the fourth quarter, the Rams got Brady’d. A Buccaneers touchdown, a Rams turnover and a Bucs touchdown and just like that, Tampa was looking at a second-straight trip to the NFC championship game.
But lo and behold, Rams quarterback Matt Stafford accomplished what he is so often criticized of failing to do: leading his team to a last-minute win. A big completion to the NFL’s best receiver this season, Cooper Kupp, enabled the Rams to escape with a win on the final play of the game.
No. 2 Chiefs 42, No. 3 Bills 36 OT
I napped through most of this game, waking up in time for the fourth quarter fireworks. I don’t think I’ve ever seen two quarterbacks answer challenges as consistently as Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen did Sunday night. Truly video game stuff.
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