Jimmy Garoppolo picked up where he left off in the Super Bowl. It resulted in another come-from-ahead loss for the 49ers on Sunday.
More criticism for Jimmy G and his missed throws is sure to follow.
There were two balls in particular that the San Francisco quarterback would surely like to have back.
With the Niners trailing by four and a minute remaining, Garoppolo threw short of a wide-open Kendrick Bourne in the end zone, his pass bouncing off Patrick Peterson's helmet. Three plays later on fourth-and-5, Jimmy G threw behind and late to Trent Taylor, which allowed Byron Murphy to recover and bat it away and seal the Arizona Cardinals' 24-20 upset.
"I can't really put my finger on one (play) right now, but there's a number of them," Garoppolo said upon being asked where he'd want a do-over. "Missed throws, missed opportunities we usually make."
Garoppolo finished 19 of 33 for 259 yards and two touchdowns but led just one scoring drive in the second half, struggling with the game on the line much like he did in February against the Chiefs.
"He had some good plays in there, but just like the rest of the offense (he) had some missed opportunities," 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters. "He's gotta play better. We've all gotta play better. The entire offense missed opportunities."
Shanahan electing not to run once in the final two minutes will probably be seen as one. The 49ers struggled to move the ball on the ground for most of the season opener but were effective on their final possession. After taking over from their own 25 with about five minutes left, the Niners gained 32 yards on four attempts as the clock spilled into the two-minute warning. Their next (and final) six plays were all passes and produced 16 yards.
Both developments -- Garoppolo's late struggles and pass-run distribution -- have become polarizing talking points in San Francisco. Shanahan alluded to his team's output on third down (2 of 11) and two early trips inside the Arizona 10 that amounted to just three points as being equally damaging.
"I thought we had a chance to run away with it in the first half," Shanahan said.
Instead, the Cardinals ran and threw themselves back from a 10-point deficit and won. It was all too familiar for the 49ers.
