Jimmy Garoppolo And San Francisco 49ers’ Goals Align Heading Into Los Angeles Rams Game

Jimmy Garoppolo will make his second start of the season when the San Francisco 49ers host the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night.

Garoppolo took over for a injured Trey Lance back in Week 2 and will go the rest of the way as San Francisco’s starter assuming he’s able to stay healthy. The Super Bowl signal caller helped lead his 49ers to a win over the Seattle Seahawks before struggling big time in an 11-10 loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 3.

With San Francisco now at 1-2 on the season, it is facing pretty much a must-win at Levi’s Stadium in front of a nationally televised audience.

“I feel like a win’s important,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters. “I would love to get a win, and then we’ll see how we play the next week.”

The difference between a 2-2 record and a 1-3 mark after four weeks can’t be overstated. With a win, San Francisco would find itself tield with the other three NFC West teams. A loss would have the defending NFC runner-ups in last place.

For Garoppolo in particular, this is a chance to prove in front of the entire league that he’s capable of being a starting-caliber quarterback in the NFL.

Set to tun 31 in November, Garoppolo was seemingly gone from the 49ers before he underwent off-season shoulder surgery. Said surgrey stopped trade talks in its tracks, leading to him returning to the 49ers on a restructured contract to back Lance up.

Once Lance went down with a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2, things changed for Garoppolo. He has incentives — both from a financial and career standpoint — that could change the quarterback’s trajectory. That continues Monday night against the Rams.

Jimmy Garoppolo’s Financial Incentives

Garoppolo’s restructured contract came in with a $6.5 million base salary. Garoppolo picked up a $350,000 bonus for playing in and helping San Francisco win in Week 2 against Seattle. He’ll earn that amount for each win he leads the 49ers to throughout the remainder of the season.

In addition to wanting to see his 49ers actually play well on the field, Garoppolo can reasonably earn $6-plus million in incentives this season. Don’t think for a second that this is lost on the impending free agent.

Part of Garoppolo’s restructure included the quarterback receiving both a no-trade and no-franchise tag clause, meaning that he will hit free agency next March. It goes without saying that the going market for a starting quarterback compared to a backup in today’s NFL can be north of $10 million annually.

Fresh off a Week 3 performance that saw him throw an interception, lose a fumble and take a safety in a one-point loss, the onus is on Garoppolo to up his game.

Past Success Against the Los Angeles Rams

Since joining San Francisco midway through the 2017 season, Garoppolo boasts a 6-0 regular-season record against the division-rival Rams. He’s completing 68% of his passes with nine touchdowns against seven interceptions in those six games.

It was just last November that San Francisco found itself at 3-5 heading into a “Monday Night Football” date with the Rams in Santa Clara. The team responded with a blowout 31-10 win in which Garoppolo outplayed Matthew Stafford. The quarterback completed 15-of-19 passes for 182 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions.

For the 49ers, this helped them overcome early-season struggles to finish 10-7 and earn a spot in the playoffs. A couple months later, they would fall to the Rams in Southern California in the NFC Championship Game despite boasting a double-digit fourth quarter lead.

As for Garoppolo, this familiarity with the Rams could play a role come Monday night at Levi’s Stadium.

“We know them inside and out, and they know us inside and out,” Garoppolo told reporters this week. “At the end of the day, it’s going to be man-on-man. You’ve got to win your battles and let the rest take care of itself, but we’ve got to come in with the right mindset and be ready to play.”

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San Francisco 49ers Up Against It Heading Into Monday Night

The 49ers will be without All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams for this big nationally televised game. As much as they want to see Garoppolo show out, it’s going to be all about the rushing attack. Putting him in obvious passing situations against Aaron Donald and Co. is not a recipe for success.

With starting running back Elijah Mitchell sidelined, the onus will be on Jeff Wilson to shoulder the load. He’s been solid the past two weeks, rushing for 159 yards on 30 attempts. However, Shanahan must stick to what’s working for him on offense. That wasn’t the case in Week 3 with the head coach abandoning the run in the second half despite holding the lead through 3.5 quarters.

“I thought we played real well in the first half. In the second half, I don’t think anyone on offense did a good job, including myself,” Shanahan said after San Francisco’s Week 3 loss. “We really didn’t get into a rhythm the whole time and our defense did a hell of a job keeping us in there, but we weren’t able to get it going.”

Playing a full four quarters is going to be key. That will be the difference between a 2-2 start and a disastrous 1-3 opening to the 2022 season for a 49ers team that views itself as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.