The entire NFL season has led up to this moment for Jimmy Garoppolo.
Throughout the entirety of the 2019 campaign, questions have swirled regarding No. 10’s status among the top-tier quarterbacks in the league. Even as the 49ers continued to string together win after win during their impressive run, Garoppolo remained a fixture in the “Has He Proven Himself?” category.
So now, after a huge bounce-back season, the Niners are headed to the Sunshine State for Super Bowl LIV with Jimmy G captaining the ship against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Does punching a Super Bowl ticket finally elevate Garoppolo’s status? Or does he have to win it all in order to be admitted into the highly-coveted club of the elite?
The arguments from both sides of the aisle are never-ending.
There’s no denying that Garoppolo’s on-field presence has been a big part of San Francisco’s success this season. They were 4-12 with a minus-93 point differential last season while Garoppolo was sidelined after sustaining a torn ACL. In his first full season at the helm of San Francisco’s offense, they went 13-3 with a plus-169 point differential.
That kind of 180-degree turn is hard to ignore, from any team.
Now, to be fair, Garoppolo wasn’t on his A-game at the start of the season. Even as San Francisco defeated Tampa Bay 31-17 in Week 1 and beat Cincinnati 41-17 in Week 2, it was San Francisco’s rejuvenated defense and the newfound slough of offensive weapons that were at the forefront of those victories.
As the season continued, however, Garoppolo became more comfortable in his role. And even with a strong run game to push the offense along, he became strong in clutch situations with a 69.2 completion percentage on third downs, good for a No. 1 ranking in the NFL among quarterbacks with 50 or more pass attempts.
This is where the comparisons to the best QBs in the league begins to pick up steam.
The crew of “Good Morning Football” touched on this topic back in mid-December. The 49ers, then 11-3 on the season, were already heavy favorites with the playoffs on the horizon. But Garoppolo’s ability to carry the team when the pressure was at its highest was still seen as a benchmark for putting him in the same category as Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, and Russell Wilson — already-established QBs who are known by the masses on a first-name basis.
“For me, Jimmy G is Jimmy G. But until he gets to the playoffs and beats the one-name guys, I can’t call him ‘Just Jimmy,'” show co-host and former NFLer Nate Burleson said. “If he gets to a Super Bowl, I’ll call him whatever he wants.”
Now, Garoppolo is going the Super Bowl. And defeated all three of those aforementioned one-name guys along the way — including that Aaron fellow this past weekend.
Here’s where we arrive at the corner of “Is a Super Bowl bid enough to consider Garoppolo great?” and “He has one more win to go in order to be considered elite.”
Garoppolo’s critics appear bolted to the ground with their arguments. Others, like former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky, have taken to social media to have No. 10’s back.
Garoppolo’s status among his peers will probably remain one of the biggest discussion points leading up to the big game. Heck, talking heads will likely still be arguing over this topic into the offseason, regardless of whether the 49ers win or lose.
Safe to say, the debate remains on-going.
