5 players who 49ers need to be great in 2020

MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 02: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers throws a pass against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium on February 02, 2020 in Miami, Florida. The Chiefs won the game 31-20. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

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MIAMI, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 02: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers looks to pass against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium on February 02, 2020, in Miami, Florida. The Chiefs won the game 31-20. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

San Francisco 49ers x-factors: QB Jimmy Garoppolo

There is no question that the most important player for the San Francisco 49ers in 2020 is quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The biggest difference between the 2018 and 2019 49ers was the health of Garoppolo, who managed to stay on the field for the entire season.

The end result was a brilliant season for Garoppolo, who passed for nearly 4,000 yards with 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. The playoffs brought some skeptics for Garoppolo, however, who pointed out the 49ers weren’t asking much out of their quarterback in the big games.

That attitude came back to bite San Francisco in the Super Bowl when Garoppolo missed a few big throws, including a wide-open touchdown to Emmanuel Sanders that would have given the 49ers the lead late in the fourth quarter. Garoppolo’s failings in the big game led to speculation San Francisco would replace him with the quarterback he used to back up in New England, Tom Brady.

The 49ers opted not to go down that road, which is the smarter long term play since Garoppolo still has a huge upside. There will be a ton of pressure on Garoppolo to duplicate his 2019 performance in 2020, and if he fails it could lead to a serious setback in San Francisco.

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