GETTY Jimmy Garoppolo smiles during pre-game activities.
After a 20-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 16, the atmosphere surrounding the San Francisco 49ers and Jimmy Garoppolo has gotten dour.
While the 49ers are still very much in playoff contention, they now don’t control their own destiny. At 8-7, they’re sitting in the No. 6 Wild Card spot, but the New Orleans Saints (7-7) and Philadelphia Eagles (8-7) will sideline the Niners if they win out.
Considering Garoppolo threw two crucial interceptions in the loss to the Titans, all eyes are on the 30-year-old quarterback. The Faithful appear to be divided, with some sticking by Jimmy G, and others ready to move on to rookie Trey Lance. For the fans believing the latter, Garoppolo’s recent comments in comparison to another NFL QB.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield had a nightmare performance on Christmas Day, throwing four interceptions in a 24-22 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Afterward, Mayfield’s press conference drew some attention for the way he responded to the disappointing performance.
Baker Mayfield on tonight’s game: “It’s frustrating. I thought our defense played great, our skill players played well, same thing with the offensive line. Backs were running their tail off. That’s why it’s frustrating for me. I hurt this team. There’s no excuse.”
There were a noticeable amount of 49ers fans hopping into the replies and tweeting elsewhere comparing Garoppolo’s post-game presser to Mayfield’s.
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What Jimmy Garoppolo Said After Titans Loss
Jimmy G evaluated his performance on Thursday night, saying he considered it a mixed bag.
“Some good, some bad,” Garoppolo said per 49ers Webzone. “I’m trying to go through it in my head. We had a chance. In a game like t hat, you get off to a hot start like that and we were rolling early on and kind of just got a little sluggish in the middle there. But I don’t know. It’s tough when you let one like this slip away.”
As we wrote about it prior, Garoppolo did not target star tight end George Kittle another time after missing him on a touchdown that ended up being picked off in the endzone in the first half. Garoppolo said it was a shared breakdown.
“We had it. It was tough. Just me and George not being on the same page. Just gotta get it right and get that one completed. It should have been a touchdown.”
Garoppolo also missed a wide-open pass to fullback Kyle Juszczyk that would’ve likely translated to a touchdown.
“Just got a little excited,” Garoppolo said. “I thought the corner — or not the corner, whoever that was — thought they were playing it a little better and just let it get a little too far outside.”
49ers Fans Sound Off on Jimmy G
In response to Mayfield’s quote taking accountability, several 49ers fans claimed that it wasn’t something Garoppolo does.
@MySportsUpdate Here is a statement Jimmy G never makes @StatsOnFire
@MySportsUpdate I wish Jimmy G would take accountability like this
Another user tweeted at Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn to compare the two quarterbacks.
“@grantcohn please compare bakers postgame today to Jimmy’s,” @ashleyaireonna said.
“FULL of accountability heavy complaints for the rest of the team. Zero smile continues to say ‘I hurt this team today this team played to win’ SHM”
Another user, @BatdadUT, compared what happened when Lance started earlier in the season and struggled.
“Too much to ask of the supposed leader of the locker room? The lack of leadership from Jimmy is a part of this teams problem. Trey took it on himself in Arizona. Fair or not… he lead.”
Another opinion worth noting comes from @XaviLaflamme70, who believes it’s a concerted effort from the 49ers organization to make Jimmy G as valuable as a trade piece as possible.
“There’s a full blown attempt going on right now within the 49ers organization to preserve whatever trade value Jimmy has. This goes all the way to Jimmy himself. He’s not gonna self critique at all lmao.”