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The San Francisco 49ers formally opened the Jimmy Garoppolo era on Sunday, with the quarterback making his first start for the team. He looked really solid in his debut, and the 49ers managed the road upset, beating the Chicago Bears 15-14.
Garoppolo and his receivers are the story of the game, but we most definitely need to give a shoutout to Robbie Gould. The 49ers kicker was playing against his first team, and he was a huge difference-maker. Gould matched a career high with five field goals to secure the win.
Garoppolo finished the game 26 of 37, with one interception. The one pick was not his fault, as he completed a pass to Louis Murphy, but Kyle Fuller yanked the ball out of Murphy’s hands. But, it goes down as an interception. Garoppolo looked calm and in control the entire game. The 49ers were unable to get into the end zone, but Garoppolo seemed like a clear upgrade from C.J. Beathard and Brian Hoyer.
There will be plenty of talk about Garoppolo’s performance, but Marquise Goodwin and Trent Taylor had monster games with their new quarterback. Goodwin caught a career-high eight receptions for 99 yards, while Taylor had six receptions for 92 yards. Taylor had several key third down conversions in helping the 49ers get to victory.
Meanwhile, the 49ers defense did a solid job containing the Bears. Mitchell Trubisky did complete 12 of 15 passes, but it was for only 102 yards. Meanwhile, the run game was held to 62 yards on 3.3 yards per play. All in all, a solid day’s work with the 49ers offense dominating time of possession on the day.
Up next: @ Houston Texans
The San Francisco 49ers will play their second straight home road game this coming week against the Houston Texans. The Texans lost to the Tennessee Titans this week to drop to 4-8. Houston has not been the same since Deshaun Watson tore his ACL. Their defense is not quite where it has been in recent years, but it is still a solid enough unit, and will present a challenge to Jimmy Garoppolo and this offense.