49ers Cannot Overcome Jimmy Garoppolo’s Turnovers in 20-17 Loss to Titans

My, oh my.

What a game.

It is a game that was exciting and surely stressful for both fanbases. But in the end, one team emerged victorious.

The 49ers could not overcome Jimmy Garoppolo’s turnovers in their 20-17 loss to the Titans.

This was a game where all the 49ers had to do was be successful on offense. I wrote about that prior to the game as the Niners defense was easily going to bottle up the Titans offense. Even with A.J. Brown and Julio Jones back, that offense was not threatening.

Winning this game was going to derive from the offense. And from the very moment the game started, it looked that way. The offense on the opening series ran such a methodical drive. Kyle Shanahan opened up with passing and play-action plays to keep the Titans for overloading against the run.

Scoring a touchdown on that drive was a cakewalk. Even the second drive was a cakewalk for them. The 49ers were poised to score a touchdown or at least a field goal. That was until Jimmy Garoppolo, with such conviction on the throw, was picked off in the endzone looking for George Kittle.

After that pick, Garoppolo played incredibly shaky.

He actually started out very well completing his first eight passes. Once he was picked off, he clearly got in his own head. Following the pick, he missed Kyle Juszczyk wide open deep down along the sideline. That most likely was going to be a touchdown. Instead, the 49ers settled for a field goal. There was a TON to be desired offensively for the 49ers. It wasn’t anything the Titans defensively were doing. It was what Garoppolo wasn’t doing following his interception. He was no longer throwing with poise and any confidence.

That was evident when he threw his second pick in the third quarter that setup the first touchdown of the game for the Titans. You can’t even blame the defense for that allowed score because they had just got off the field beforehand, and had to defend a short field. Garoppolo single-handedly sobered up anything successful for the 49ers.

How bad was it?

He cost the 49ers AT LEAST 14 points. The pick in the endzone that removed at least three points, then the failed pass to Juszczyk that cost 4 points. Lastly, the second pick he throw that lead to seven for the Titans.

He just never was able to find a comfort zone once he threw that first pick. The 49ers defense ended up falling apart by the time the fourth quarter arrived. Again, it is hard to totally fault them when they did their part for the majority of the game. The offense couldn’t sustain drives and put up points.

It was only going to be a matter of time before the Titans realized their best style of attack was through A.J. Brown. San Francisco’s cornerbacks are not good. The offense needed to build a cushion early and keep the Titans feeling far away from winning.

Unfortunately, they gave the Titans life to win.

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