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This time last year, we asked which San Francisco 49ers game you wished you could have attended before the John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan era started in 2017. Today, we flip the script. Which Niners game would you have liked to attend in the past three seasons? Knowing Joe Staley’s last game was the Super Bowl, would that be your choice, or would it have been Jimmy Garoppolo’s first start? I imagine the majority of answers will land in the Jimmy G era.
The team wasn’t playing for any meaningful games at the end of 2017 when they acquired Jimmy, and the majority of the 2018 season was lost after Garoppolo tore his ACL early in the season against the Chiefs. Does that narrow us down to the 2019 season? If so, we’re not going to be short on entertainment. From Week 1 through February, San Francisco kept the season entertaining.
Week 16, when the Rams traveled to Levi’s Stadium is my answer. The 49ers won 34-31 and eliminated the Rams from playoff contention a year after making the Super Bowl and looking invincible. The Rams marched down the field and scored a touchdown on their opening drive. It looked like Los Angeles would have their way all night after their first drive. Richie James took the ensuing kickoff 81 yards, but the 49ers had to settle for a field goal. Both quarterbacks threw interceptions where they had no clue there was a defender in the vicinity. The second quarter featured 35 points. The Rams were up 28-24, then the 49ers scored a touchdown, the Rams tied it up again, and, after a bomb from Jimmy G to Emmanuel Sanders on 3rd & forever, Robbie Gould was able to seal the deal to get the win.
From an entertainment standpoint, Week 16 was full of highs and lows and would have been a great game to watch in person.