What a difference five days can make.
Jimmy Garoppolo was awful Monday night in his first NFL game action since tearing his ACL last September, but in the 49ers’ dress rehearsal Saturday night, the 27-year-old quieted concerns about his knee by completing 14 of 20 passes for 188 yards and a 20-yard touchdown pass in San Francisco’s 27-17 win over the Chiefs.
“All the hearsay and whatever noise is going to go on, you have to ignore it and just go play football,” Garoppolo told reporters. “I thought it was a good step coming back here to K.C., where it all started. So, just get that out of the way. It’s another step in the right direction.”
Garoppolo went 1-for-6 with zero yards and an interception Monday against the Broncos, finishing with a 0.0 passer rating. He also has had some rough days in practice, including a five-interception day.
“It’s not a big surprise, I think, when a guy is out for a long time and especially coming off an ACL,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “But that’s just how football goes sometimes, especially in the preseason. Last week wasn’t nearly as bad as it looked, but it definitely did look that bad live. And today everyone was on the same page a little bit better, we moved the chains a couple times, and you just get into a rhythm and you start forgetting about things and playing football.”
Garoppolo was back at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City where he suffered the knee injury during Week 3 last year. Before the game Garoppolo went over to the spot where his 2018 season ended.
“A lot has happened in the year since then,” he said. “I thought it would be good to go back there just to remember everything that I’ve gone through.”