San Francisco 49ers: Is Jimmy Garoppolo Turnover Prone?

Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers lost their first game in over eight months yesterday, 24-16 to the Minnesota Vikings.

Yesterday’s game was a game to forget for both Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers. Numerous missed opportunities led to an ugly stat sheet and a box score that had become unfamiliar territory for Kyle Shanahan.

But whether you are ready or not, the NFL season moves fast, and the 49ers quickly need to put the performance behind them and focus on their home opener against the Detroit Lions next Sunday.

When reviewing the tape, there’s going to be a lot of frustration for Jimmy G when it comes to execution and decision making. Garoppolo finished 15-33 (45 percent) with 261 yards and one touchdown to three interceptions. That stat line gave him the worst QB rating of all quarterbacks in week one.

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Coming into the week, the 49ers knew it was going to be a tough task to defeat a team with the number one defense in the league last season. Yet still, the 49ers were able to rack up 327 total yards and only lost by one possession despite losing the turnover battle four to one.

The turnover battle is what I’m focusing on for this article, specifically the interceptions. Not all interceptions are created equal. There’s a lot that goes into interceptions; there could be several different factors that come into play when a quarterback throws an interception.

There could be miscommunication between the receiver and the quarterback that leads to timing issues, poor decision making and yes, even great defensive plays. We saw a little of everything yesterday with Jimmy’s three interceptions. The poor decision making is the one that concerns me.

We’ve seen Gaoppolo’s arm talent many times not in his six starts under Kyle Shanahan. His quick release and ability to extend plays inside the pocket is among the best in the league. But sometimes he makes some throws in tight windows that leave me scratching my head.

Garoppolo’s quick release and good accuracy allow him to get away with some throws that otherwise would be touchdowns for the opposing team. But there are throws that he has throughout the game where he often throws into triple or double coverage and puts a lot of pressure on the receiver to make the plays.

Also Read. 49ers Week One Missed Opportunities. light

Take this final interception that sealed the game. Garoppolo locked onto his target from the beginning of the play and never tried to move the defensive back off him allowing him easily to undercut the route. There were other plays when the 49ers got near the red zone that Garoppolo threw the ball to a receiver double covered.

This is Garoppolo’s first full season as a starter, and there’s no doubt that Shanahan is going to design plays to get their playmakers open. But it’s on Garoppolo to make the best decision at moments like this during a game to earn that hefty contract.

Jimmy G threw five interceptions in five starts last season. Over the pace of a full season that would have ranked him second in the league for interceptions.

After Sunday he’s now up to eight touchdowns to eight interceptions during his young 49ers career. That’s not a ratio that is going to get it done for Shanahan.

There’s certainly no time to panic on the Jimmy G hype train. But the interceptions need to stop if the 49ers have hopes of making the playoffs. You aren’t going to win many games when you lose the turnover battle four to one.

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Garoppolo’s talent shouldn’t be questioned anymore at this point. But his decision making is something that could keep him from ascending to the top of the QB rankings. It’s the little things that earned him the $137.5M deal, but it’s also the little things like decision making that he has to improve on to be a starting quarterback in this league.