Amid Group Struggles, Jimmy Garoppolo To Stay Beginning QB For 49ers – CBS San Francisco

SANTA CLARA (AP) – With the San Francisco 49ers stuck in a four-game losing streak and starter Jimmy Garoppolo having the worst game of his career, coach Kyle Shanahan is still unwilling to make a quarterback move – even if rookie Trey Lance is healthy.

Garoppolo flipped the ball three times and struggled to move the offensive for most of Sunday night’s 30:18 loss to the Indianapolis Colts but will remain the starter when the Niners travel to Chicago this week.

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“We didn’t go into this game because we thought Jimmy was just one bad game away from losing his job or something,” Shanahan said on Monday. “Jimmy didn’t play as well as he could. He knows it. I know that. I think it’s been pretty tough for him, for both quarterbacks, considering the weather. I definitely thought he could have played better. But this wasn’t a game where Jimmy will lose his job if he has a bad game.

Shanahan still called Lance the future of the Niners (2-4), but when the future will come is unknown. San Francisco gave three first-round picks this spring to create Lance third overall, and he played a handful of snaps before taking over against Seattle at halftime on October 3 when Garoppolo left with a calf injury.

Lance showed some positive signs on his only start the following week in Arizona but was inconsistent when throwing the ball and then sprained his left knee. He missed last week, but should at least return to training on Wednesday to a limited extent and could be deployed in a situational role.

Shanahan is getting hot as the Niners battle it out into its fifth season. San Francisco has won a season since Shanahan’s arrival and went to the Super Bowl in 2019.

He had excuses early on: an exhausted squad when he arrived and injuries in 2018 and 2020. This year would be different. Shanahan understands the current criticism.

“We’re 4-2 here, we’ve lost four games in a row that I think we all won and that’s where you want to start,” he said. “You want the chance to win every game you find yourself in. … We have to find a way to win some of those tight games that we lost. “

WHAT WORKS

First drive. The Niners put together a formidable, scripted opening move that moved 78 yards in eight games to score on Elijah Mitchell’s 14-yard run. San Francisco used rollouts and bootlegs to great success in this possession, but fought offensively for the remainder of the game. The 49ers either failed a first down or turned over nine of their last 10 drives without a one-play sack to end the game.

WHAT NEEDS HELP

Secondary. The Niners allowed Carson Wentz two deep passes in the field in wet conditions and again struggled to defend properly. San Francisco incurred five pass interference penalties, with Emmanuel Moseley caught twice and Josh Norman, Jaquiski Tartt and K’Waun Williams each caught once.

Three of these penalties were accepted for 97 yards and helped set up two TDs.

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“We gave them way too many explosive freebies,” Shanahan said.

For the season, the Niners have imposed 14 league-high pass interference penalties, including three that have been denied or equalized. The 11 penalties accepted have earned the opponents 250 yards, most in the league.

INCREASE

Mitchell. The rookie ran 107 yards on 18 carries, making him the only player alongside Derrick Henry to have a 100-yard game against Indianapolis in the last four regular seasons. Mitchell has already played two 100-yard games this season, making him the first Niners rookie to have multiple 100-yard rushing games since Billy Kilmer made it three times in 1961.

Stock

Brandon Aiyuk. After his 60 catches for 748 yards as a rookie in 2020, he’s been a sideline all season. He was targeted once at a 6-yard reception on Sunday, had a 3-yard run, and narrowly avoided disaster when he kicked the ball backwards into his own end zone after throwing a punt. The game was rightly decided a touchback. Aiyuk has only nine catches for 96 yards this season.

INJURIES

S Jaquiski Tartt (knee) will be absent for a few weeks. … DE Dee Ford, LB Aziz Al-Shaair are both on the concussion log. … CB Moseley left the game with a back injury, but should be okay. … Shanahan hopes LT Trent Williams can return after missing a game with an ankle injury.

KEY NUMBER

120. The Niners have made 120 rallies under Shanahan in more than four seasons, including four on Sunday. That’s seven of Tampa Bay’s NFL-worst 127 in the range. The turnovers have resulted in 397 points for the opponent – the most allowed by a team since 2017.

NEXT STEPS

The 49ers visit Chicago on Sunday.

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