Jimmy Garoppolo Prepares for First Ever Playoff Start
It's back to work for the San Francisco 49ers who hit the practice field in full capacity today after spending last week on light duty.
The 49ers are coming off of a bye after clinching the top seed in the NFC and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. San Francisco is set to take on the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday for their first ever playoff game at Levi's Stadium.
However, hosting a playoff game at Levi's Stadium isn't the only first. Jimmy Garoppolo is preparing for his first ever playoff career start. Despite being involved in a plethora of playoff runs and having Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots, Garoppolo has never had to shoulder the burden of a playoff game.
The pressure setup by the bright lights and slim margin for error is a different beast. Quarterbacks have crumbled under this pressure to cost their team a loss, but Garoppolo is handling it as calm and collected as he can be.
In fact, he's treating it as just "normal week" and "going through his routine as he always does". This is the ideal mentality that every playoff team wants from their quarterback leading up to their start. However, it could be different story once the matchup with the Vikings kicks off.
It's definitely not out of the realm of possibility that Garoppolo tightens up. Once again, it has been seen over and over again of quarterbacks falling flat on their faces after a strong regular season. Luckily for Garoppolo, he has the experience of playing in multiple close games this season.
From winning a shootout against Drew Brees to dealing big time throws in a division clinching win against the Seahawks. Garoppolo, at this point in the season, is battle tested. Those close game experiences will benefit him and the rest of the team tremendously.
Ever since week 12 against the Green Bay Packers, every game for the 49ers was essentially a playoff game. They couldn't have afforded many losses since the Seahawks were right on par with them for the NFC west title. This team has been feeling the pressure since facing the Packers. While there were some bumps in the road, San Francisco finished the regular season with the best result possible.
Of course, Garoppolo can still fall flat on his face Saturday. Nothing is a guarantee that he will handle Saturday's divisional playoff game composed, especially if the game gets out of hand. However, I would say that is an unlikely situation that Garoppolo gets tight against Minnesota. In all of the close games that the 49ers were in this season, it was the perfomance by Garoppolo that allowed them to stay in and even win the game.
Seeing him answer the call when it is time to shine is encouraging and is a reason to believe he will be fine on Saturday. It's actually quite a bit of a shock to see him consistently show up in those moments, despite this being his first full starting season. That likely is a benefit from sitting behind Tom Brady throughout all of the playoff games and Super Bowls that Garoppolo was a part of.
Now that experience from sitting behind Brady and close games this season will allow him to prove that he is a capable quarterback in the playoffs. Anything can happen on Saturday, but there is not as much density to believing Garoppolo will fail.
