Well, the regular season is officially over. It’s sad to say but at least the 49ers went out with a bang and what an end to the season it was. The 49ers won their last five games and Jimmy Garroppolo is now 7-0 as a starter in the league. The final score 34-13.
The Offense
The team was firing on all cylinders versus the Rams in the win on Sunday. Garoppolo had another great performance going 20 for 33, passing for 292 yards and two touchdowns against two interceptions. The running game was established fast and early. Carlos Hyde had 15 carries for 90 yards and two touchdowns. Undrafted free agent running back Matt Breida had 72 yards on the ground and 32 through the air.
One of the scariest parts of the night came when wide receiver Marquise Goodwin suffered a concussion on a vicious hit. Goodwin ended up being taken to the hospital to be further evaluated. The bright side is as he was leaving, he gave the fans a thumbs up. He later tweeted that he was okay and felt no soreness nor anything of that nature. Goodwin has had really put up really good numbers since Garoppolo became the quarterback a few weeks back. Goodwin has reached career highs in receptions, yards, and targets.
The Defense
The Rams benched most of their starters for this weeks game in order to prepare them for the playoffs. Even though the 49ers played versus mostly backups, thier defense seemed to flow together in unity.
Through the air they were able to hold Los Angeles Rams backup quarterback Sean Mannion to only 169 yards on 20 completions and no touchdowns. On the ground, the 49ers held backup running back Malcolm Brown to just 54 yards. The whole defense was flowing together and looked to be in unity, playing smooth.
What happens next
The regualar season has come to an end, which means the the 49ers season has come to an end. With this win the 49ers have clinched either the ninth or 10th pick in the NFL draft. (It will be a coin flip between the 49ers and the Raiders to decide who gets the ninth and who gets the 10th pick). Now the 49ers can turn all thier focus towards the offseason and the draft.
Since Garoppolo has become the starter, he has provided a lot of light to a team that was looking to need a massive rebuild. Now they look to be light years a head of where everyone thought they were.
A bold prediction for next year, the 49ers are a playoff contender and Garoppolo is an MVP candidate.
