Is Jimmy Garoppolo playing tonight against Packers?
Jimmy Garoppolo will play in the biggest game of his career Saturday against the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round of the playoffs. Garoppolo is coming off a serviceable game against the Dallas Cowboys in the wild-card round. However, he suffered a sprained shoulder that could affect his quality of play this week.
Luckily for the San Fransisco 49ers, Garoppolo will start against the Packers on Saturday. He will be in discomfort and pain as he also has an injured thumb to accompany his injured shoulder.
While there's potential for Trey Lance to see the field, the 49ers are currently better off with Garoppolo. Garoppolo has experience playing in big games, and this game will serve as his audition tape for teams interested in him for 2022.
#49ers injury report for Saturday:
OUT - None
DOUBTFUL - None
QUESTIONABLE - DE Jordan Willis (ankle), DE Nick Bosa (concussion), CB Ambry Thomas (knee)
Everyone else is good to go, including QB Jimmy Garoppolo and LB Fred Warner.
Jimmy Garoppolo will play today against the Packers
Jimmy Garoppolo has faced Aaron Rodgers once already this season. The 49ers and Packers played one another in Week 3, with the Packers walking away victorious in a 30-28 win.
Garoppolo had an up-and-down game, throwing for two touchdowns and 257 passing yards. He also threw one costly interception, which is something that's happened on more than one occasion.
When Garoppolo throws a clean game, he's a serviceable quarterback who can manage the game and rack up wins. Having Fred Warner and Nick Bosa on defense to help control the Packers' offense certainly helps.
But when Garoppolo makes mistakes, the 49ers tend to find themselves in a hole. His biggest blemish from the Cowboys' game was the interception that gave the Cowboys life late in the contest.
Despite finishing 2021 with a 20:12 TD:INT Ratio, 49ers Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had a very concerning rate of "Big Time Throws" to "Turnover Worthy Plays"
BTT%: 2.2 (32nd)
TWP%: 4.6 (t-2nd)
*min 260 dropbacks: out of 35 possible QBs*
The Packers defense presents a difficult challenge for the 30-year-old to overcome. Their defense allowed a respectable 21.8 points per game during the regular season. They did that without Za'Darius Smith and Jaire Alexander, their two most talented defenders, who missed a combined 29 games.
Jimmy Garoppolo will be aided by his Swiss-army-knife wide receiver Deebo Samuel and George Kittle, who is elite at racking up yards after the catch.
How well Garoppolo plays will likely come down to how his finger and shoulder injuries are. Kyle Shanahan was honest that upper-body injuries as a quarterback are detrimental and make their presence known on every play.
Kyle Shanahan on Jimmy Garoppolo's injuries:
"I think the the thumb bothers him more than the shoulder, which he's gotten used to the past couple weeks. But it's a challenge. ... It's harder at the quarterback position."
In what could potentially be Garoppolo's final game in a 49ers uniform, the bulk of the pressure will fall on his shoulders. If Jimmy Garoppolo wants to earn a starting job in 2022, beating the Packers at Lambeau Field serves as a great pitch for teams looking to trade for him.