If Jaguars bring pressure, Jimmy Garoppolo and Marquise Goodwin will be prepared

The San Francisco 49ers are the second-most blitzed team in the NFL behind the Philadelphia Eagles. Those are two very different teams, with the former being blitzed due to a poor offensive line and limited receiving options with which to punish over-committing and the latter being a very good team that others try and disrupt from their rhythm.

San Francisco is blitzed 34.5 percent of the tie, and they are one of nine teams that face a blitz at least 30 percent of the time they’re on offense, according to stats from NFL Matchup on Twitter. To contrast, the least-blitzed team is blitzed 19.1 percent of the time (the Kansas City Chiefs).

Jimmy Garoppolo has a couple things that make him such a tremendous quarterback prospect, but the two that stand out are his release and his poise under pressure. Typically, NFL quarterbacks suffer a 32-point drop in quarterback rating under pressure, as graphed by Pro Football Focus and shared by Better Rivals’ Oscar Aparicio.

A 32-point swing is huge, but it’s not one that is affecting Garoppolo, at least through three starts. Garoppolo has a 104 quarterback rating while under pressure this season, also via Aparicio. Garoppolo is doing something right, especially when throwing to Marquise Goodwin, who is suddenly having himself a season.

Garoppolo has the most pass attempts and yards while under pressure over the past three weeks, which is unsurprising given how much the 49ers are blitzed, but that includes someone like Carson Wentz of the Eagles, who is having a fantastic season himself.

Garoppolo has a 109.7 passer rating on 12 Goodwin targets while under pressure, and a 57.6 passer rating on 24 targets to everyone else, according to Pat Thorman of PFF.

While the numbers to everyone else are disappointing, Goodwin’s emergence has been fantastic. Garoppolo’s poise and ability under pressure has brought out a new kind of player in Goodwin, who is making his case for a starting role going into an offseason where the wide receiver position will likely see significant changes.

The Jaguars have 51 sacks on the season, more than any team in the league by a good margin. The 49ers have allowed 42 sacks on the season. Garoppolo will probably be brought down multiple times on Sunday, but he should be throwing the ball well when he’s able to get it away.