Quick study: In 49ers’ 10th loss, ex-Patriot makes immediate mark
SANTA CLARA >> Jimmy Garoppolo’s much-anticipated 49ers debut came with only 67 seconds to spare — and to inspire — in Sunday’s 2413 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Garoppolo took just three snaps, threw a touchdown pass on the game’s final play and showed the smooth style that could entrench him as the 49ers starting quarterback, at least
for this season’s final five games in the wake of C.J. Beathard’s late-game knee injury Sunday.
Coach Kyle Shanahan wasn’t ready to declare Garoppolo as his new starting quarterback, stating: “Those plays have nothing to do with anything. He was just running around, made a great play. But those have no bearing on it at all.”
It’s the most likely scenario, however, for when the 49ers (1-10) play next Sunday in Chicago, only a 30-mile drive from Garoppolo’s hometown of Arlington Heights.
“I’m going to keep working just like I have the past month,” Garoppolo said. “It’s a work in progress. It’s a grind. But I’m enjoying it.”
Garoppolo has never played at Soldier Field in his four NFL seasons, and he acknowledged he’s “pretty excited” about the prospect of doing so. If he does start, he better hope he gets more protection from the offensive line.
Beathard endured another grass-stained thrashing (13 hits, three sacks) and finally got forced out with 1:07 remaining on a hit to his left knee. That led the sparse crowd to cheer Garoppolo’s arrival, which several 49ers players found disrespectful toward the injured Beathard.
Beathard limped away after this fifth straight start and heads Monday for an exam on his knee. “It could just be a bruise to the knee,” Beathard said. “I don’t think anything’s torn. I don’t feel like it is.”
Unwilling to insert Garoppolo earlier since his Oct. 31 trade from the Patriots,
the 49ers were forced to for this game’s closing act. He scrambled nine yards on his first snap and then completed the two passes he threw, the final one resulting in a 10-yard touchdown completion to Louis Murphy as time expired.
“It was cool,” Garoppolo said of the first touchdown pass since Week 2 last season as Tom Brady’s standin with the Patriots. “Tough situation, being down whatever at that point. We’ll move on from here.”
That last line echoes his New England upbringing the past 31/2 seasons.
“Murph made a great catch on it in the end zone,” Garoppolo added. “The (offensive) line gave me some time. I had to scramble a little bit. It was a nice play by everybody.”
Said Murphy: “I’ve been noticing in practice the past few weeks how quick the
ball comes out of his hand and how he stays alive.”
The 49ers are 1-10 for the second straight season, having had their bye last weekend after beating the New York Giants to snap an historic 0-9 start.
The Seahawks (7-4) never trailed Sunday and are unbeaten in four trips to Levi’s Stadium. For the fourth straight season, the 49ers were swept by the Seahawks in their two-game series, a skid that actually stretches nine games when counting the 2013 NFC Championship Game at Seattle.
Now the 49ers prepare to visit the Bears (3-8) on the first weekend of December for the third straight year. The 49ers lost 26-6 last season but won 26-20 in 2015. Chicago is coming off a 31-3 loss Sunday at Philadelphia.
Key impressions
BEATHARD BATTERED
>> Beathard couldn’t muster much production, nor could his linemen keep his jersey clean. Michael Bennett jumped offside and delivered the knockout blow to Beathard, who said he felt pain shoot up from his knee to his hip. As he headed for the sideline, Beathard said he did not hear the cheer of Garoppolo-hungry fans -- in a stadium about 5 percent full -- and was more focused on his knee.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for how he plays,” Shanahan said. “He’s hung in there and gotten better for us each week. Hopefully (the injury) is not as bad as it looked.”
Similar to his first three starts, Beathard endured far too much punishment, including 10 hits and two sacks by halftime. The 49ers offensive line clearly missed Beathard’s rightside bodyguard in Trent
Brown, whose shoulder injury Thursday made him a game-day scratch and forced rookie Erik Magnuson to start at right tackle. Left tackle Joe Staley said he hyperextended his left knee early in the fourth quarter and missed one snap but should be OK going forward.
GAROPPOLO DEBUT >> At 4:11 p.m., Garoppolo took his first snaps of what could be many in his 49ers tenure. It took a while for the play call to arrive, and once he took the shotgun snap from Daniel Kilgore, Garoppolo scrambled and slid for a 4-yard gain to the Seattle 14. After a false start by Magnuson, Garoppolo completed his first pass, an 8-yard strike to Aldrick Robinson. Then came the game-ending touchdown throw to Murphy.
“There’s never an easy situation to go into. Being a backup, I’ve experienced both ends of it,” Garoppolo said. “But you always have to be ready. I’ve been saying it for the last four years: you never know when you’re time’s going to come or if it’s going to come, so when it does, you have to take advantage of it.”
Staley said Garoppolo has proven to be “very smart, a bright guy” and is picking up Shanahan’s offensive system “very well.” DEFENSE EMPTY HANDED >> Wilson did not get sacked, and chasing him proved frustrating. When the 49ers failed to corral him on the opening series after halftime, he converted a third-down pass (29 yards to Doug Baldwin) to keep alive an eventual touchdown drive. That 17-yard scoring strike to Nick Vannett made it 14-6 over the 49ers. No holding penalties got called on the Seahawks, who got away with a couple.