Sporting Green
Defense’s play also big factor in 4th straight win
49ers: The Jaguars congratulate Jimmy Garoppolo after S.F.’s fourth straight win.
Early in the fourth quarter Sunday, after an interception by Ahkello Witherspoon gave the 49ers the ball deep in Jaguars’ territory, the crowd at Levi’s Stadium began the chant. “MVP! MVP! MVP!” The cheer wasn’t for Witherspoon, the rookie cornerback. It was for Jimmy Garoppolo, the rock-star quarterback.
“It was a little interesting timing considering our defense just got a big turnover — it wasn’t really Jimmy’s play,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said, smiling. “But I don’t disagree with it.”
Indeed, it is something on which fans and players can agree: Cheer whenever the
heck you want for the most valuable player the 49ers have had in years.
On Sunday, Garoppolo added the most impressive chapter to the storybook start to his 49ers’ career by leading his new team to a 44-33 victory over Jacksonville, which clinched the AFC South shortly after kickoff.
The Jaguars (10-5) arrived with a defense that led the NFL in points and passing yards allowed, while leading the league in sacks.
No matter. The team that was No. 1 in several categories was no big challenge for Garoppolo: He completed 21 of 30 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. He added a scoring run to lead the 49ers (5-10) to their fourth straight win.
Yes, the 49ers are 4-0 with Garoppolo starting. Their record in their previous 31 games: 4-27.
“Since Jimmy G. got here, thing have been a lot of different,” running back Carlos Hyde said. “Things have been feeling real good around here.”
On Sunday, Garoppolo helped make the Jaguars resemble a 4-10 team and the 49ers look like the 10-4 group. As head coach Kyle Shanahan said, “I know today, it seemed like we were the better team.” So how does one put a price tag on that? Juszczyk indicated Garoppolo doesn’t need to do anything else to prove he merits a long-term mega-contract.
“Max the man out,” Juszczyk said. “He deserves it. I think he’s everything that we’ve been looking for.”
On Sunday, it wasn’t just Garoppolo. It took a team effort to take a 37-19 fourth-quarter lead on Jacksonville. The 49ers’ defense had three interceptions, one of which was returned 50 yards for a touchdown by Dontae Johnson, and others that led to touchdown drives of 26 and 18 yards.
Still, the 49ers are just like their fans who began chanting for the QB after Witherspoon’s pick: It all goes back to Garoppolo.
“On defense,” linebacker Brock Coyle said, “if we can give the ball back to No. 10 in that offense, we can be a special team.”
Said center Daniel Kilgore after Garoppolo’s quick release helped limit “Sacksonville” to one sack: “He makes everyone’s job a little easier.”
On Sunday, Garoppolo had 172 passing yards with 4:37 left in the second quarter (the Jaguars were allowing 168.9 passing yards per game). He also led the 49ers to 10 points in less than 10 minutes with back-to-back, game-opening scoring drives (the Jaguars were allowing 14.9 points a game).
The 49ers scored a touchdown on their first possession for the first time since Dec. 11, 2016.
“It seems week by week,” Garoppolo said, “we just keep getting better.”
It initially appeared the 49ers would batter Jacksonville in a game that featured wild runs. They took a 16-0 lead, but the Jaguars roared back to grab a 19-16 edge in the third quarter. The 49ers’ response: a 21-0 run that featured much of the Jaguars’ game-long dysfunction.
In the second half, the Jaguars had 15-yard penalties for taunting, unsportsmanlike conduct and unnecessary roughness. In addition, linebacker Dante Fowler was flagged for holding after his clothesline takedown of wide receiver Marquise Goodwin. And the Jaguars even took their frustrations out on each other: In the first quarter, defensive lineman Malik Jackson and cornerback Aaron Colvin got into a sideline shoving match.
“Maybe they thought they could come in here and push us around a little bit,” Coyle said. “When the bully gets punched back, he doesn’t like it. We punched back today.”
Against significant odds, the 49ers, once 0-9, are now knocking out Super Bowl contenders after spending the season’s first three months getting sand kicked in their faces.
It has led to odd scenes in their stadium — like fans chanting for the QB after an interception — and strange feelings in the locker room.
“I’ve been a part of one (other) five-win team in my career,” Juszczyk said. “... And I can tell you, it didn’t feel like this.”