National Football League

Can Jimmy G lead Niners to Super Bowl (again)?

Updated Jan. 17, 2023 9:59 a.m. ET

By Eric D. Williams
FOX Sports NFL Writer

Aqib Talib says there’s nothing wrong with a game manager at quarterback.

He should know. During the former All-Pro cornerback's time in Denver, Talib won a Super Bowl with Peyton Manning at the end of his career, doing just enough on offense for the defensive-minded Broncos to win the title six years ago.

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Jimmy Garoppolo is certainly not Manning, but Talib sees a similar ability to manage a game when watching the 30-year-old signal-caller execute during critical moments for the San Francisco 49ers.

"I see a guy who controls the game," said Talib, an NFL analyst for FOX Sports who will be part of our NFC Championship Watch Party on Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET on the FOX Sports app). "Jimmy makes big plays when needed — sometimes. But I don’t really feel like there’s anything wrong with a guy who knows how to control the game, man. A lot of guys go out and lose games.

"When I see Tom [Brady], I see a guy who can control the game but also do extra stuff. He’s great in situational football. But with Jimmy, I see a guy who can control a game, and I think that’s very important when you’re talking about quarterbacks. So he’s got that ability, and he’s got ‘win’ ability. The guy knows how to win games. And I feel like that’s a skill, too. And there’s only one way to show that stat, and that’s with your record."

Win-loss record is not the most reliable stat for evaluating quarterback performance. But in a bottom-line, results-oriented business such as the NFL, QBs who serve as catalysts to winning games are valuable to the people who populate an NFL locker room.

"He’s been in big situations before," San Francisco offensive coordinator Mike McDaniels said. "Jimmy’s really cool because more than a lot of quarterbacks that I’ve been around, he is a football player at the quarterback position. I don’t know a lot of the details, but I know when he started playing football, he was a linebacker. And on game day, he has a fire about him. As he’s more confident, he expects more of himself. And guys feed off that.

"It’s organic. It’s not like, ‘Hey, come on, guys.’ It’s more like, ‘Let’s go.’ And guys respond to that."

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Garoppolo is 35-15 (including postseason) since joining the Niners in 2017. San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan is 8-27 without Garoppolo as his starter. This season, the Niners went 1-1 with rookie Trey Lance and 11-6 (including postseason) with Garoppolo under center.

"We’re able to maintain trust in him because we keep winning," Niners linebacker Fred Warner said of Garoppolo. "If you went down the list of order of importance for positions on the team, quarterback is No. 1. A team’s success is very heavily dependent on the quarterback position.

"So the fact that we are winning games is not a surprise. Jimmy is playing great football. It’s also a team game. It’s not just if Jimmy does well, we’re going to win games. But he does exactly what we need him to do. And he’s the exact same person every day. He’s not on social media looking at what everyone is tweeting about him. Who knows what he does outside the building? I don’t know. But I know when he comes in this building, he’s literally the exact same person every day, no matter what."

There’s plenty of ammunition for the naysayers. The Eastern Illinois product finished with double-digit interceptions in two of his past three seasons.

He threw for a shoulder-shrugging 3,810 passing yards (12th in the NFL) in 2021 and 20 touchdowns (tied for 17th in the league). Garoppolo has never earned Pro Bowl honors in his eight NFL seasons. He owns two Super Bowl rings from his time as a backup to Brady in New England.

In five postseason games, Garoppolo has thrown for a total of 730 passing yards, with two touchdown passes and five interceptions.

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He knows about the criticism from NFL analysts and social media. And Garoppolo said he ignores the noise.

"Friends and family always seem to remind me of those things," Garoppolo said. "But I think just knowing yourself and who you are plays a big part in that. Because if you get lost in it and start believing in those things, it could take you down the wrong road. So I think it’s just about knowing yourself as a player, as a person. As long as these guys in this locker room have faith in me and belief in me, that’s all I really care about."

And so do his teammates.

"When you’re the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, you kind of have a spotlight on you just based on the players that have played the position before you," San Francisco tight end George Kittle told reporters this week. "There’s a lot of people that try to consistently bring you out of the spotlight. All Jimmy has done is continue to stand firm and throw darts."

The Niners gave up three first-round selections to the Miami Dolphins to move up from No. 12 to the No. 3 overall selection, taking Lance, likely the successor to the starting QB job in San Francisco.

Garoppolo has one year left on a five-year, $137 million deal — $25.6 million of which he is due to make next season. The Niners could save that money by trading him in the offseason.

Garoppolo might be gone next year because of Lance, but he’s the San Francisco QB for right now, and that’s all that matters.

Talib says the Niners would be wise to strongly consider keeping Garoppolo for another season, especially if he propels them to another Super Bowl — the franchise’s second in three seasons.

"It’s hard to kick a guy out the door when he keeps finishing top-four for you," Talib said. "If I make it to one of the last four teams, ask any of the GMs or coaches if you want to keep the same exact team and go into next year, would y’all do that, all of them would say, ‘yeah.'

"He was the quarterback two years ago when they were in the chip. If you could keep that situation, you would. Why would you change it? This is the ‘Not For Long’ league, and we’re trying to win right now. So you definitely could lose the locker room if you make the wrong play at quarterback."

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While some NFL observers might question Garoppolo’s so-so numbers and ability to take care of the football, he does fit Shanahan’s desire to run the football and lean on play-action to take shots down the middle of the field.

According to Next Gen Stats, Garoppolo was the only quarterback to average more than 10 yards per attempt (10.5) on play-action passes in the 2021 regular season. Garoppolo also had 874 "after-the-catch" yards on passes over the middle of the field in the regular season, fourth in the NFL.

Garoppolo is 6-0 in his career against the Rams. Defensively, the Rams have given up a 76.3% completion rate and eight yards per attempt on throws between the numbers this season.

"He dominates the middle part of the field," Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford said. "I mean, that guy is as good as it comes when it comes to throwing into tight windows and getting his guys opportunities in there to catch and run."

Despite Garoppolo’s success against his former team, Talib likes the Rams on Sunday.

"I just feel like everything comes full circle, man," Talib said. "This is the moment for the Rams to enter the championship arena. It’s time for the Rams to go get there. The Niners have beat them six straight, but I think it will change right here in the NFC Championship.

"So the Rams come out with the win, and they win by 10 points."

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @eric_d_williams.