Final Thoughts: Niners v. Cowboys
This game SHOULD NOT have been as close as it ultimately was. The Niners won today in spite of Jimmy Garoppolo.
Exhibit A: that nasty route by Brandon Aiyuk. With the Niners already up 23-7, Aiyuk ran a post-corner and juked Trevon Diggs out of his shoes and was WIDE OPEN with zero Cowboy defenders in sight. All Garoppolo needed to do was a simple pitch-and-catch. A touchdown at this point of the game would put the Niners up 30-7, at worst 26-7 if the Cowboys force the Niners into a field goal, still putting the Niners up by three scores. This was especially a buzzkill to the Niners momentum because the previous drives were a K’Waun Williams interception of Dak Prescott followed by an ensuing running touchdown by Deebo Samuel. That overthrow singlehandedly killed the Niners onslaught.
Exhibit B: After Mike McCarthy made the questionable decision to kick a field goal down 16 points to bring the score to 23-10, all Garoppolo needed to do was take care of the ball and keep the clock running. Instead, while rolling to his right, he overthrows Trent Sherfield right into the arms of Anthony Brown to keep the Cowboys momentum going that directly results in a Cowboys touchdown cutting the Niners lead to 23-17. Once an NFL playoff game is one possession, all bets are off and a single play can be the difference between advancing in the playoffs or going home in heartbreaking disappointment.
Today’s playoff performance reminded me of the Niners win over the Vikings two years ago. The Niners cut through each defense on their first drive like a hot knife through butter. Then rode their defense and running game the rest of the way. The Niners also survived some very questionable decision-making and dangerous throws by Garoppolo in each playoff game. Like it or not, the reality for Niners fans like myself is that Garoppolo is still our best hope for this season, but not by much. Garoppolo’s decision-making is making it more difficult to defend him because I do like how competitive he is. I love how the team responds to him as a leader. Unfortunately, Garoppolo will only take you so far. At this point, all I ask for Garoppolo is to be a game manager and not turn the ball over and make clutch throws on 3rd down to keep the chains moving.
First impressions on the Niners v. Packers Divisional matchup next week: Nick Bosa and Fred Warner both need to be active to have a shot against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. The Niners defense is predicated on getting pressure with just their front-4, and if the Niners have to blitz more often just to generate pressure on Aaron Rodgers, then he will pick the Niners defense apart. The Niners need to continue to run the ball and limit Rodgers touches. I do feel like the Niners are a better team now than they were in their week 3 matchup, especially on the defensive end, and it took some Aaron Rodgers magic for the Packers to sneak out of Levi’s with a victory. If Bosa and Warner are healthy, I think the Niners have more than a puncher’s chance of stealing one in Lambeau and advancing to the NFC Championship Game, especially since they are the more physical team on both sides of the ball.
