“Limited” Jimmy Garoppolo MUST Play Against the Dolphins
The 49ers’ 2020 campaign has significantly been thrown off course. We’re approaching the fifth week of the season, and the term “Revenge Tour” feels like it has already been put to rest. Super Bowl or bust expectations have suddenly shifted to just hoping the team makes the playoffs and seeing what happens from there.
Before the season began, if someone were to tell me the reigning NFC Champions were going to be fighting for their season during a Week 5 matchup against the Dolphins, there is no way I would’ve believed them.
Yet, here we are. The 49ers are in this position because the injury bug hit them hard. Going into the season, I said the five most important players regarding this team’s success are Jimmy Garoppolo, George Kittle, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa, and Dee Ford.
Through four weeks, everyone of those players except Trent Williams has already missed half of the season. That list does not even include Raheem Mostert, Richard Sherman, Dre Greenlaw and all of the other injured players.
In many ways, the team is fortunate to have a .500 record. They’re fortunate that their easiest portion of the schedule came in the first quarter of the season. If they were to have faced tougher opponents, as they have yet to beat a team with a win, who knows what their record would be right now.
Focusing on what’s real, the 2-2 49ers are getting ready to take on the 1-3 Dolphins. Let me be very clear: this game needs to be treated with the same intensity as a playoff game. I say this because if the Dolphins somehow pull off an upset, I don’t see the team recovering well enough to make the playoffs.
Remember the gauntlet of a stretch the team faced last season when they had to play the Packers, Ravens, Saints, Falcons, Rams and Seahawks all in consecutive weeks? Well, they’re facing a similar gauntlet in the coming weeks. They’ll have to face the Rams, Patriots, Seahawks, Packers, Saints, Rams again and Bills over an eight week stretch. Luckily, the 49ers have a bye between the Saints and Rams games.
It is already underwhelming that the best record the 49ers could have going into that stretch is 3-2, and that’s if they beat the Dolphins. Obviously, you’d have liked to go into that stretch 5-0 or even 4-1, but the circumstances are what they are.
So, “Win or go home” is the mentality that needs to be instilled into each player's head if they want any shot at resurrecting the Revenge Tour. That mentality needs to start with Jimmy Garoppolo. As long as he is relatively close to being ready to play, he must play this Sunday.
Garoppolo was limited in practice on Wednesday, which is an encouraging sign. That tells me that if this were a playoff game, he’d play. Well, it’s only October, and it’s a playoff game.
I’m sure this is the predicament Kyle Shanahan finds himself in:
1) Start Garoppolo and risk further injury
If Garoppolo is returning a tad bit too soon, there is the risk of reaggravating the injury or simply worsening it. But, you could argue that there may be that chance for whenever he is cleared to play.
If Garoppolo does injure himself against the Dolphins and has to miss more games, kiss the Revenge Tour goodbye.
2) Starting Beathard or Mullens and risk losing to the Dolphins
Let me start off by saying there is still a chance the 49ers lose to the Dolphins even with Garoppolo under center. That’s how the NFL works, as upsets have their way of happening all the time. But, it’s hard not to feel like even an 80% Garoppolo would be better than a 100% healthy C.J. Beathard or Nick Mullens,
Mullens is coming off a horrific performance, and while C.J. Beathard looked good he does have a career record of 1-9. If Garoppolo can't go, coach Shanahan said he already knows who will be starting. Whoever it is, if this game is lost, the 49ers will be 2-3 entering their toughest stretch of games to date.
Beyond Week 5
Being 2-3 going into that stretch, with a healthier Garoppolo, is more ideal than Garoppolo starting against the Dolphins and reaggravating his injury in a win. However, I think that being 2-3 going into those seven games would be too much for almost any quarterback to overcome, in terms of leading his team to the playoffs.
9-7 will likely grant a team a playoff berth, but after the loss to the Eagles it’s hard to imagine the 49ers making the playoffs with that record. So their target should be 10 wins. If they lose to the Dolphins, the team will need to get 8 wins against mostly opponents who figure to be playoff teams.
Putting the season in Mullens’ or Beathard’s hands is far too risky. If you’re going to go down, which I feel like the 49ers will do if they lose this game, then you want to go down with your guy. And the 49ers’ guy is Jimmy Garoppolo, and that became crystal clear after Mullens’ game against the Eagles.
This is an opportunity for Garoppolo to establish himself as the greatest 49ers quarterback of the century, and a top quarterback in the league. The defense will no longer win this team games like it did last year. Instead, the defense this year will keep games close, and it is going to be left up to Garoppolo to bring home wins.
That should start this Sunday against the Dolphins. A limited-in-practice Garoppolo needs to go out there and get this season back on track.
Jimmy Garoppolo MUST play -- unless the doctors strictly advise him not to, of course.
Follow me on Twitter: @NinerNick_22
