Garoppolo falls just short after missed opportunities
MIAMI — The stage was set for Jimmy Garoppolo to lead the type of Super Bowl-winning drive that he watched his mentor Tom Brady do in two previous title games.
Even after blowing a 10-point fourth quarter lead to Patrick Mahomes and the high-powered Chiefs, Garoppolo had the ball in his hands needing one successful drive to lead the 49ers to their record-tying sixth Super Bowl title.
Instead, Garoppolo came up short and the Niners head into the offseason with disappointment after falling 31-20 to the Chiefs on Sunday night.
“Those are the moments you dream of and everything,” Garoppolo said. “We got rolling on a right note and just couldn’t finish it off. It is tough, but it has been a hell of a year with these guys.”
After failing to move the ball on the first two drives of the fourth quarter, Garoppolo and the 49ers took over at their 15 with 2:39 to play and three timeouts.
It’s the kind of spot any quarterback wants to be in and the kind that Brady thrived in while leading Super Bowl comebacks over the Seahawks (2015) and Falcons (2017) with Garoppolo as his backup.
But that late-game magic didn’t rub off on Garoppolo after he moved the team to the Chiefs 49 on the first play following the two-minute warning.
He then threw incompletions on first and second down before missing on his biggest throw of the night. Emmanuel Sanders got loose behind the secondary but Garoppolo’s deep throw was just out of his reach for an incompletion.
“We missed some shots tonight,” Garoppolo said. “Just some plays that we usually make. It was a tough one out there.”
Garoppolo was then sacked on fourth down, giving the ball back to the Chiefs. He then threw an interception after Damien Williams added an insurance touchdown, capping off a rough fourth quarter that saw him go 3 for 11 for 36 yards.
“I had all the confidence in the world that he would make plays,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. “I still think he played a phenomenal game. We have all the confidence in the world in Jimmy. He’s our guy no matter what the situation is.”