Jimmy G felled by ACL as Chiefs roll
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kyle Shanahan was watching as Jimmy Garoppolo scrambled toward the 49ers sideline and, rather than safely duck out of bounds, stepped back to his right and took a wick- ed shot from Steven Nelson.
At first, the
San Francisco coach thought his quarterback sustained a concussion.
Turns out it may have been a season-ending knee injury.
Garoppolo’s left knee buckled just before the Chiefs’ cornerback delivered a shoulder-to-shoulder blow, and that was the reason he went down so hard. Garoppolo was on the turf for a couple of minutes before he was helped to his feet and eventually carted off late in a 38-27 loss to Kansas City.
“We fear an ACL,” Shanahan said afterward. “We’ll find out more tomorrow.”
That’s bad news for the banged-up 49ers (1-2), who already lost top running back Jerick McKinnon to a seasonending knee injury and only have two other quarterbacks on the roster.
C.J. Beathard took over for Garoppolo with just over five minutes left yesterday, and he appeared to throw a touchdown pass to George Kittle before offensive pass interference wiped it out. San Francisco had to kick a field goal and that wound up being the final margin.
Now, Beathard is in line to start next week when the 49ers play the Chargers in Los Angeles, and Nick Mullens could get a call-up from the practice squad to serve as the backup.
“Any time you lose your starting quarterback, that’s a big deal. It was when we lost our starting running back, too,” Shanahan said. “Feel for him personally. I know how disappointed he is.”
Beathard spoke to Garoppolo briefly in the trainer’s room, and the 49ers’ franchise QB — who signed a $137.5 million extension in February — made it clear he expects his season to be over.
“I told him I’ll be praying for him and I love him and he just told me to lead these guys,” Beathard said.
It’s a big blow for the 49ers, who thought they had the pieces to contend for a playoff spot. Now, they’ve lost two key offensive pieces, to say nothing of the injuries on defense.
Top cornerback Richard Sherman went down with a calf injury, backup Tarvarius Moore had a wrist injury. Safety Jaquiski Tartt was out with a shoulder injury and safety Adrian Colbert hurt his ankle, forcing a bunch of backups to play.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes handled them for 314 yards passing and three TDs, giving him 13 without an interception. That broke the NFL record of 12 for the first three weeks of a season, set by Peyton Manning in 2013.