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Kyle Shanahan says Jimmy Garoppolo 'has to play better' after Cardinals upset 49ers
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had a chance to play the hero Sunday. With the 49ers trailing by four points, Garoppolo had an opportunity to lead a game-winning drive late.
As the 49ers got close to the goal line, Garoppolo had two passes broken up by Arizona Cardinals defenders. If Garoppolo made better throws, the 49ers may have won.
Garoppolo’s head coach, Kyle Shanahan, didn’t say as much after the game, but admitted Garoppolo needs to play better if the 49ers want to repeat last season’s Super Bowl run, according to CBS Sports.
"Yeah, he had some good plays in there, but just like the entire offense, just missed a number of opportunities that it was going to take to win that game. We had a couple there, but he's got to play better," said 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. "We've all got to play better on offense, especially, and it starts with me."
Shanahan, 40, quickly added the entire offense needs to play better, not just Garoppolo. Shanahan also blamed himself, saying the team’s failures starts with him.
Jimmy Garoppolo acknowledges missed throws
Garoppolo didn’t shy away from his struggles after the game. He admitted he missed a late throw to Kendrick Bourne that would have given the 49ers the lead.
“There was a couple of different options, but yeah, K.B. just, I left that one just a hair short.," Garoppolo said. "That's one I wish I had back, but when you get opportunities like that, you've got to take advantage of them."
Garoppolo credited Cardinals safety Budda Baker for breaking up the other missed pass. Garoppolo added he felt the 49ers struggled to get into a rhythm during the 24-20 loss.
Jimmy Garoppolo missed throw in Super Bowl
While Garoppolo’s overall numbers from Sunday’s game were solid — he threw for 259 yards and 2 touchdowns — the missed throw is tough to ignore after last February’s Super Bowl. Garoppolo had a chance to lead the 49ers on a game-winning drive against the Kansas City Chiefs, but overthrew an open Emmanuel Sanders near the end zone with under two minutes to play. The Chiefs won the game 31-20.
Garoppolo probably isn’t in danger of losing his job any time soon. Nick Mullens had strong moments in 2018, but wasn’t good enough to force a quarterback competition.
Because of that, it’s on Garoppolo to make those throws. As the 49ers showed last year, the team can get pretty far as long as Garoppolo plays mistake-free. But Garoppolo will have to make crucial throws if the 49ers want to walk away from the season with a ring.
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