49ers Studs and Duds: Pin the 49ers’ loss to the Titans solely on Jimmy Garoppolo
San Francisco should have won Thursday's game with ease, but Jimmy Garoppolo was the second-best quarterback on the field, so they lost.
Here’s the good news: The 49ers are still likely going to make the playoffs.
Now, the bad news: After choking away Thursday night’s game to the Titans, losing 20-17, San Francisco is going to have to win at least one more game this season to make it.
The Niners had a spot in the postseason in their hands. Jimmy Garoppolo threw it away in a performance so poor it has to make you wonder if the 49ers should even bother entering the tournament at all.
Here were the studs and duds from a contest that could well haunt the Niners in the weeks to come:
STUDS
Deebo Samuel
An absolutely marvelous performance by this team’s offensive MVP. Samuel was the Niners’ best runner and best receiver Thursday, with his 56-yard catch-and-mostly run putting the Niners in position to tie the game late.
It was arguably Samuel’s best game of the season — he was the best player on the field.
And given how many good games he’s had and how many good players were on the field, that’s saying something.
In all, Samuel had 191 yards of total offense on 14 touches.
This team would be lost without him. So it’s a true shame they lost with him. To waste such a great game is malpractice.
DEEEEEEBO. Off and running!@49ers are 1st and goal. #FTTB
: #SFvsTEN on @NFLNetwork
: https://t.co/3mPIe4up1m pic.twitter.com/xCJAGDgeQd
— NFL (@NFL) December 24, 2021
Jaquiski Tartt
The Niners’ strong safety is playing like a man who is both healthy and ready to be paid this offseason.
Tartt was a bone crusher on Thursday, making six tackles, five unassisted, with a tackle for loss.
The Niners’ safeties were excellent on Thursday. Tartt has been on fire since returning to the lineup.
In the process, the Niners’ defense has some serious teeth, particularly against the run.
Samson Ebukam, Kentavius Street, Jordan Willis
All three players had a sack. Street had another tackle for a loss, as well. Nick Bosa was being double- and triple-teamed all game, but this trifecta came through in a big way.
Jeff Wilson
The total and average is anything but eye-popping, but I thought Wilson did a nice job in the run game, again, on Thursday. He doesn’t have the pop that Elijah Mitchell has, but he does carry more thump, and he made a lot out of a little on half a dozen runs in Nashville.
Wilson is a good player. A feature back? No. But as part of a backfield tandem with Mitchell — or a *trois cours* with Mitchell and Samuel — and the Niners’ run game should be in excellent shape.
DUDS
Jimmy Garoppolo
The 47 other active members of the 49ers did more than enough to win Thursday’s game.
But player No. 48, their quarterback, ruined it.
Don’t pretend anything else happened in Nashville. Don’t move the goalposts or lower expectations for Jimmy Garoppolo after the fact.
The Niners had the second-best quarterback on the field against the Titans — by a wide margin — so they lost.
The other quarterback wasn’t Aaron Rodgers or Patrick Mahomes or Russell Wilson, either. It was Ryan Tannehill, who is average on his best day.
I’m not even sure if Garoppolo is that. After a few weeks of solid if unspectacular execution, Garoppolo was worked over by an unspectacular Tennessee Titans defense and his own flawed processes.
Or, should I say lack of processes?
As soon as Kyle Shanahan’s script for the game dried up after the Niners’ second drive, so did Garoppolo’s ability to look like a starting quarterback.
Baffling decisions and bad throws led to two unacceptable interceptions — one coming in the Tennessee end zone — and unknown points coming off the board.
The 49ers had no reason to lose Thursday. Zero. The defense played well enough to win. Garoppolo had more than enough help on offense. The Niners dominated that game early and could have easily maintained control in the second half.
Instead, a 30-year old quarterback with nearly 50 NFL starts made multiple rookie mistakes and lost a game that could have assured the Niners a playoff spot and made the final two weeks of the season a cakewalk.
Now, San Francisco has some pressure in Weeks 17 and 18. Worse yet, every playoff team in the league has a new, easy-to-copy game plan for beating Garoppolo, and ergo, the Niners.
Trent Williams
A face mask and a false start in this game?
Williams is the best left tackle in the game. He didn’t do anything as a blocker to undercut that status.
But two penalties? That’s terribly uncharacteristic. We have to grade on the curve here – Williams is as good as it gets, but this was a poor performance by his incredibly high standards.
Arik Armstead
Where was he?
Bosa didn’t have his best game, but the Niners’ defensive end was receiving the full attention of the Tennessee offensive line.
Armstead should have been in the backfield as often, if not more often, than the Niners’ three stud defensive linemen.
DJ Jones was able to find his way back there on a bum ankle, after all.
At least once a series Thursday, Armstead could be seen being carried out of the play. The 49ers’ highest-paid defender was, what, their seventh-best defensive lineman Thursday?
Not good.
Demeco Ryans
The pass rush was working. The safeties were flying. The linebackers are as good as there are in football.
So why was Ryans so far behind Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing on third downs in this game?
Seriously, Todd Downing is one of the worst offensive coordinators in football.
But Ryans went soft zone after soft zone after soft zone on third down. The one time he didn’t do it, the Titans made a play, but it was easy to make plays when the defense allows receivers to get into position to make a catch without any resistance whatsoever.
The Niners defenders were marvelous on Thursday night. Their coach didn’t help them out.
Such is the plight of having a first-time defensive coordinator. Ryans has called some excellent games this year, but he’s also had a few stinkers. Even with the Titans’ low point total, this was a stinker.