Garoppolo’s gaffes seal Tennessee win
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo mostly has been very good this season for the San Francisco 49ers, generally avoiding his maddening propensity to commit game-deciding gaffes. But that was certainly not the case Thursday night in Nashville in a key game with NFL playoff implications.
The 49ers could not overcome Garoppolo’s costly blunders. The Tennessee Titans got an offensive boost from the return to the lineup of wide receiver A.J. Brown and defeated the 49ers 20-17 to move a significant step closer to securing the AFC South title.
“I don’t think you totally beat yourself,” 49ers Coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I mean, those guys made those plays on third down. They did some good things. That’s a good team. They played well. Give them a lot of credit. But I’m frustrated. We could have won this one.”
Kicker Randy Bullock’s 44-yard field goal with four seconds remaining won it for the Titans. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill had a 23-yard run as the Titans moved into position for the game-winning kick after the 49ers tied the score with a 95-yard touchdown drive. Garoppolo’s 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk with 2:20 left got the 49ers even.
The Titans would clinch the division crown if the Indianapolis Colts lose Saturday night at Arizona. They improved to 10-5 with only their second victory in their past five games. They moved, for now, a halfgame ahead of the New England Patriots for the No. 2 playoff seed in the AFC.
“The Colts are a really good team,” Brown told NFL Network afterward. “But I’m praying on their downfall right now.”
Brown had 11 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown. He was activated from the injured reserve list earlier Thursday after being sidelined since Week 11 because of a chest injury. His presence was just what Tannehill needed to jumpstart a passing game that had been unproductive in recent weeks.
The Titans scored 17 straight points after trailing 10-0 at halftime Thursday. Bullock provided a field goal. Tailback D’onta Foreman ran for a thirdquarter touchdown. Tannehill threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Brown in the opening two minutes of the fourth quarter.
“We had some mistakes out there on offense. … If we turn the ball over and we don’t force any turnovers, it’s hard to win,” 49ers tight end George Kittle said. “We were still in a position to be in there at the end, even overcoming those turnovers. But we
just didn’t do it enough, I guess.”
The 49ers had their twogame winning streak ended and fell to 8-7. They’re still the No. 6 playoff seed in the NFC at this point, but with less margin for error.
“Our best was needed tonight,” said Kittle, who was limited to two catches for 21 yards. “And our best players didn’t play our best game.”
Garoppolo was the NFL’S sixth-rated passer entering the game. But he had some glaring mistakes Thursday, throwing two interceptions and missing what should have been an easy touchdown pass.
The 49ers got a firstquarter touchdown run by tailback Jeff Wilson Jr. and a second-quarter field goal by kicker Robbie Gould. But in the first half, Garoppolo threw an end zone interception to cornerback Janoris Jenkins to squander one scoring opportunity. He also overthrew wideopen fullback Kyle Juszczyk on the field goal drive.
In the third quarter, Garoppolo threw an interception to safety Amani Hooker to set up Foreman’s tying touchdown for the Titans.
“That was a real bad one,” Shanahan said. “Should not have thrown that. It was a bad play. No one was open on the play.”
Garoppolo gathered himself to lead the late touchdown drive and finished the night with 322 passing yards on 26 for 35 throwing accuracy. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel had nine catches for 159 yards. But Garoppolo’s lapses were egregious. And they spelled the difference.
“Frustrated, I would say,” Garoppolo said. “It’s a game we had an opportunity to go into their place and we got off to a good start, got the lead like we wanted to. We just hit a lull in the middle there. If we don’t hit that lull, I think it’s a totally different game. But that’s football. Stuff happens.”