False start to game, fast finish to season?
QB was the leader of a 3-5 team who was inspiring a high-decibel “bench him!” chorus.
Did Shanahan also prop up Garoppolo privately around the season nadir?
“I give soft compliments a lot,” Shanahan said. “… And he does pretty good with my soft compliments.”
No kidding. On Sunday, Garoppolo was a major reason why the 49ers (8-6), winners of five of their past six games, took another step toward a playoff spot that once appeared unlikely.
Garoppolo completed 18 of 23 passes for 235 yards and threw a game-sealing 4-yard touchdown pass to wideout Jauan Jennings on 3rd and goal to give the 49ers an 18-point lead late in the third quarter.
“He’s our quarterback, and we’ve rode behind him the entire way,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “So we see him playing at a high level like he is right now and we’re going to need it.”
Garoppolo’s completion percentage (78.3) was the fourth highest of his 61-start career in a game in which he’s thrown 20 passes. He had a 123.9 passer rating, marking the eighth time in 13 starts that he’s posted a mark of above 100 this season. He didn’t throw an interception — extending his streak to 76 attempts without a pick — and his yards per attempt (10.2) was the seventh highest figure of his career.
Perhaps his performance is best captured with this: He had as many completions of 20-plus yards (five) as incompletions.
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk said he saw it coming hours before kickoff.
“There was something different about him — he had this aura about him,” Juszczyk said. “Even at breakfast today, (tight end) George (Kittle) and I were like, ‘He’s ready to go today.’ ”
Asked to confirm Garoppolo’s “aura,” as relayed by his Harvard-educated teammate, Kittle began with a verbal eye roll: “Aw, geez,” Kittle said, smiling, before offering his own assessment.
“Jimmy was definitely inspired to play at a high level — he had some s— to him today,” Kittle said.
With the victory, the 49ers remained in the No. 6 spot in the seven-team NFC playoff chase. They have a 1.5 game lead on Washington, which holds the No. 7 spot and faces the Eagles on Tuesday.
With three regular-season games remaining, the 49ers have an 88% chance of reaching the postseason, per the statistical analysis site FiveThirtyEight.com.
How did they get here? A big reason is their QB, who has responded well to the prodding from a head coach not known for giving him pats on the back.
“Well, (the compliments) are far and few between,” Garoppolo said. “Not only me, just everyone. That’s how Kyle is, and you like that in a coach. It pushes you.”
Other observations from the win over the Falcons:
⏩ The 49ers won despite the third subpar special-teams performance in the past four games.
The latest comedy of errors included a lost fumble on the game-opening kickoff return by JaMycal Hasty, who muffed his second runback and had it carom out of bounds at the 9-yard line.
The 49ers also allowed a 24-yard punt return, a 33-yard kickoff return and set up the Falcons for their only touchdown, which came on a 65-yard drive after Mitch Wishnowsky’s short kickoff was returned 26 yards.
Is Shanahan confident special-teams coordinator Richard Hightower is addressing their ongoing issues?
“I’m confident they’re being addressed appropriately,” Shanahan said. “But we’re not getting enough of the results.”
⏩ The 49ers beat up the Falcons. No, really: There were a handful of eye-opening plays in which some of their best players exerted their physical dominance.
The best example? It might have been when wide receiver Deebo Samuel punctuated a 21-yard catch-and-run in the third quarter by plowing into cornerback A.J. Terrell, sending his mouthpiece into the air.
Did Samuel realize what kind of impact his collision had?
“Not really, until I saw the replay and then everybody was going crazy,” Samuel said. “So I knew something crazy kind of happened.”
The 49ers’ first touchdown — Juszczyk’s 4-yard run in the second quarter — came on a play in which Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams had a crushing clear-out block on pancaked defensive tackle Tyeler Davison.
Kittle (six catches, 93 yards), who dragged multiple defenders with him to finish several catches, said he senses when Williams levels another defender.
“You can kind of feel it when there’s just a giant hole where the C gap or B gap should be,” Kittle said. “And it’s just Trent Williams looking at a guy like laughing at him. … He can throw you over a building. So good luck to anybody that has to go against him when he’s feeling it, which is always.”