49ers clearly need more out of Jimmy Garoppolo

Jimmy Garoppolo must play better for the San Francisco 49ers going forward.

The San Francisco 49ers lost their home opener in Week 1 and we’re looking at Jimmy Garoppolo.

While he’s used to getting looked at because he’s so darn handsome, it’s hard to not feel disappointed by what we saw out of him in the 49ers’ 24-20 home loss to Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon. Even though he was fine on Sunday, he needs to do more if the 49ers even want to dream about getting back to the Super Bowl this season.

Has Jimmy Garoppolo hit his definite ceiling as a franchise quarterback?

On paper, Garoppolo played decently. He completed 19-of-33 passes for 259 yards, two touchdowns an no interceptions, scampering for an additional nine yards on his one rushing attempt. While he had a 103.0 quarterback rating, he was sacked three times and averaged only a decent 7.8 yard per attempt. Though he was better than Murray, it was Murray’s team who won.

While we don’t expect Garoppolo to make nearly as many plays with his legs as Murray, who rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, we thought we’d see a bit more dynamism out of Garoppolo in his second full season as the starting quarterback in Kyle Shanahan’s system. He’s been in it since getting traded over mid-season by the New England Patriots back in 2017.

While the 49ers receiving corps leaves a lot to be desired, this is an offensive system that allows the quarterback to really sling it and achieve greatness. Just ask Matt Schaub, Brian Hoyer and Matt Ryan what the Shanahan offense can do for their careers. It made Schaub a Pro Bowler, Hoyer a quality starter and Ryan an NFL MVP. It has gotten Garoppolo to a Super Bowl, though.

But the big difference between him and Ryan’s trips to the Super Bowl is Ryan was the reason the 2016 Atlanta Falcons were winning big, while Garoppolo largely played off the running game and an absolutely filthy 2019 49ers defensive line. The end result was the same, heartbreak in the fourth quarter to an AFC team you should have beaten hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

With 15 regular-season games left on the slate, Garoppolo has time to get right and play better.