The San Francisco 49ers are 4-10 after making it three straight wins by beating the Tennessee Titans in Week 15. We look at three takeaways from the game.
The San Francisco 49ers claimed their third successive win to move to 4-10 as Robbie Gould kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired to lift them to a 25-23 victory over the Tennessee Titans. Gould kicked six field goals as the 49ers dealt the Titans’ playoff hopes a big blow, but once again it was the Jimmy Garoppolo show as he prevailed in his first home start at Levi’s Stadium.
After another stunning performance, Garoppolo is 3-0 as 49ers starter and remains unbeaten as a starter in his NFL career.
Here we look at three takeaways from another extremely positive afternoon for the 49ers.
3. Composed Garoppolo delivers again
In just three starts with the 49ers, Garoppolo has two game-winning drives. And, as in his first against the Chicago Bears, this one was again a demonstration of his incredible calm and poise in pressure situations.
Save for a few risky throws, including one where Marquise Goodwin ripped the ball away from a defender, Garoppolo was extremly accurate throughout the game, completing 31 of his 43 passes for 381 yards and a touchdown.
Garoppolo continues to elevate the play of a mediocre group of pass-catchers. Goodwin had his second straight 100-yard game and is closing in on 1,000 yards for the season. Rookie Kendrick Bourne had four catches for 85 yards, while tight end Garrett Celek had three for 63 yards and a score and George Kittle had four for 52 yards.
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And, with just over a minute left in which to author the decisive drive, Garoppolo was cool personified. After completing a pass to Trent Taylor, he gunned first-down conversions into Kittle and Goodwin, needing just three throws to put the Niners in position for Gould to boot them to another triumph.
There is no doubt Garoppolo is San Francisco’s quarterback of the future and the only question is whether the 49ers will just franchise tag him or immediately hand him a huge contract.
2. Red zone woes continue
The 49ers have struggled in the red zone throughout the season regardless of who has been under center. That continued on Sunday, with Celek’s touchdown catch the only time the 49ers found the endzone on four trips inside the 20.
They would have had another six-pointer had a Trent Taylor screen pass, which he fumbled into the endzone and into the grasp of guard Laken Tomlinson, not been called back on an offensive pass interference call that can at least be deemed debatable.
But the fact remains that, had San Francisco been more proficient in the red zone, the margin of victory would not have been so tight. For all the positivity surrounding the team amid this winning streak, the red zone offense is something that will require work going into next season.
1. Gould makes his Pro Bowl case
Los Angeles Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein leads the NFC in Pro Bowl votes from fans, but there is a strong case that it is Gould who should be representing the NFC in Orlando. Through the last three weeks he has made all 15 of his field goal attempts, with his decisive kick his second game winner in that period.
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On Sunday Gould made kicks of 38, 48, 28, 50 and 48 before the crucial 45-yarder as the final seconds ticked off. Much like Garoppolo, his sense of calm is evident and he is an outstanding source of offense for this team. The 49ers would like not to rely on him as much, but it was reassuring that they can do so in seemingly any situation.