San Francisco 49ers: 4 Winners, 3 losers from Preseason Week 2 vs. Broncos
Loser: Jimmy Garoppolo, QB
Talk about pouring cold water on excitement. Look, no one was expecting Jimmy Garoppolo to be perfect as he returned to game action for the first time since suffering a torn ACL at the beginning of the 2018 regular season. However, fans were at least hoping for some signs of optimism and there weren’t any from Jimmy G.
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Garoppolo finished the game going 1-of-6 for zero yards and an interception. Furthermore, he should’ve had a second interception on his line if the Broncos had been able to secure the throw. Garoppolo looked rushed, uncomfortable and generally rattled in his return to the field. That may subside as he gets his feet wet more but Monday’s results were far from inspiring of confidence.
Winner: Solomon Thomas, DL
The beginning of Monday’s contest between the 49ers and Broncos was largely a defensive struggle, even if there were some splash plays. Even without Dee Ford and Nick Bosa in the lineup, the standout unit for the Niners in that time of the game was the defensive line and former first-round pick Solomon Thomas was one of the standouts in that group.
While impressive in the box score with four total tackles and a tackle for loss, Thomas’ impact went beyond that. The third-year pro was in the backfield on a number of occasions, creating pressure and causing some broken plays for the Broncos. San Francisco and defensive coordinator Robert Saleh have been waiting on Thomas to break out and realize his potential and this was a sign of what could be with the defensive lineman.