National Football League

Is it time for the 49ers to bench Jimmy Garoppolo?

Updated Dec. 24, 2021 7:24 p.m. ET

If the NFL season were to end today, the San Francisco 49ers would be just on the fringe of the eight NFC teams that would claim a spot in postseason play.

At 8-7 following Thursday, the team currently sits third in an NFC West division that's jam-packed with firepower, headlined by the Cardinals and Rams, who are tied atop the foursome at 10-4.

But the regular season is far from over, and though San Fran is safe in terms of postseason candidacy by today's metrics, they'll have to win their next two games as the season's home stretch swiftly approaches.

And that's a pursuit that's not guaranteed in the slightest.

The Niners are 4-4 through their last eight contests, barely sustaining plus-.500 play since the season's outset. They're coming off of an unsettling 20-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans, in which their opponent climbed back into contention after sliding to a 10-point deficit by halftime, eventually winning on a decisive 44-yard field goal from Randy Bullock with four seconds left.

The collapse incited a firestorm of questions about not only the team's defensive fortitude, but its ability to put up points on offense.

And the biggest question on offense centers around one man: Jimmy Garoppolo.

Jimmy G had one of his worst performances of the season in what couldn't have been a more critical outing for his troupe. Despite posting top-flight numbers in the yardage department (he had 322, his second-best total of the year), Garoppolo completed 26 of his 35 pass attempts and missed the mark on two pivotal throws that turned into interceptions.

He finished the game with a quarterback rating of 88, his fourth-worst of the season.

In the eyes of Nick Wright, it may be time to take a seat.

"The Niners are in the same boat as the Titans, Colts, Patriots or Vikings," Wright said bluntly on Friday's episode of "First Things First."

"[These are] teams that, 2-53, you really like what they have, but in your heart of hearts, you know that in a big spot, their quarterback cannot be trusted. Garoppolo is who he is. Last night, it was worse than the numbers suggest. This game should have been 21-0 three possessions in, but Jimmy G throws a red-zone pick in the end zone. Quarterback wins are a fake thing, and the only argument for Garoppolo is he's been lucky enough that they've won despite him. The Niners gave up three first-round picks for Trey Lance for a reason. They have to at least get him involved in the game plan if they want to have a chance."

For Chris Broussard, though, the thought of replacing Garoppolo with Lance is pure absurdity.

"Jimmy G was horrible last night," Broussard admitted.

"I'm not defending what he did. We know that Jimmy G is not elite, but he has shown that you can win, and win big with him. Nobody's saying he's Aaron Rodgers. He's 6-3 in his last nine starts. Before last night's game, we were all saying that San Francisco is one of the most dangerous teams in the league. I'm all for shipping him off after the season and going with Trey Lance. But it'd be horrible if they benched him right now, ridiculous. They got to a Super Bowl with him."

Garoppolo does have a Super Bowl appearance under his belt, but the NFL is a league with an incredibly short memory, and his feats of yesteryear have little impact on his current standing.

At this point, he's struggling to find the necessary support he needs to uphold himself.

Garoppolo has six games with at least 30 pass attempts thus far in the season, and San Francisco is 2-4 in those affairs. When he doesn't reach that benchmark, the team is 6-2. Thursday night's game marked the seventh time the team has recorded at least two turnovers, and the loss dropped its record to 1-6 in such contests. San Fran also scored its lowest points total (17) since Week 9, after coming into the matchup averaging 29.2 points per game.

Now is certainly not the time for a downtrend in momentum for the Niners. But Garoppolo has more power than anyone on the field to reroute that energy in a positive direction.

If not, there's a young flamethrower sitting just below him on the depth chart.