Monday, December 4, 2017

Former Bear Gould Plays Hero in 49ers Win at Chicago

Week 13 - In a match-up between two under-performing teams, Jimmy Garoppolo and the (1-10) San Francisco 49ers would pay a visit to the windy city to take on Mitch Trubisky and the (3-8) Chicago Bears. With San Francisco leading the all-time series versus Chicago by a slim margin entering Sunday at 33-31-1, Sunday's game would be another close affair in the latest chapter of the 49ers-Bears rivalry. Making only the third start of his career and first in a 49ers uniform, newcomer Jimmy Garoppolo would impress in his return home with a little help from a former Chicago Bear. Having grown up just 26 miles north of Soldier Field in Arlington Heights, Jimmy G. would make quite the impression on Niner fans as he helped lead San Francisco to their second victory of the season and first on the road. It would also be a memorable day for former Bears kicker Robbie Gould who was kept busy all afternoon long while providing all the scoring the Niners would need on Sunday to beat the team he spent 11 seasons with. A year after being cut by the team Gould set multiple franchise records with for most career points and field goals made, the 35-year old kicker would connect on five field goals to exact his revenge in his first return to Soldier Field as a member of the visiting team, including the game-winning field goal with seconds to spare.

Having trailed in 62% of minutes played this season (3rd most in the NFL), Garoppolo would lead the San Francisco offense down the field on their opening possession before fizzling out in the red zone and having to settle for a Robbie Gould field goal, something they would make a trend out of virtually all afternoon long as all five of Gould's field goals came inside the 20. The Niners' inability to strike pay dirt would be the result of multiple red zone penalties. Chicago on the other hand would make only one trip inside the red zone on Sunday, but would make the most of it as Trubisky capitalized with an 8-yard touchdown pass to receiver Deontrelle Inman who hauled in his first score as a member of the Bears. Helping set up Chicago's touchdown would be a 49er turnover as Garoppolo was charged with an interception, the first of his career, on a ball that was stripped from the receiver as Bears corner Kyle Fuller wrestled the ball out of Louis Murphy's hands before both players fell to the ground. The so called "interception" which was more of a fumble than anything, would set the table for Trubisky while also ending a streak of 104 career passes without an interception for Garoppolo.
Aside from Trubisky's lone touchdown pass, rookie running back Tarik Cohen would provide the rest of Chicago's offensive fireworks with an explosive 61-yard punt return to give his team a 14-6 lead in the first half. After being surrounded by multiple Niner defenders and appearing to be dead in his tracks on the punt return, Cohen reversed from sideline to sideline before bursting up the middle for a special teams touchdown that would've made Devin Hester blush. It would mark the first punt returned for a touchdown by a Chicago Bear against the Niners since Hall of Famer Gale Sayers took one to the house in 1967. A man of many traits, Cohen has dazzled in his rookie campaign and now has a passing touchdown, receiving touchdown, rushing touchdown and special teams touchdown under his belt this season. The special teams score would be a wake up call for a San Francisco squad that has been the best coverage unit in the NFL thus far, having held opponents to an average of 2.5 yards per return before Cohen's big play. A pair of Niner weapons would make some big plays of their own on Sunday as rookie receiver Trent Taylor and speedster Marquise Goodwin each eclipsed the 90-yards receiving mark while combining for 14 receptions and helping Garoppolo set a new career-high in passing yards.

Completing 26 of 37 pass attempts (70%), Garoppolo finished with 293 yards through the air as San Francisco held onto the ball for a season-high 38:47 in time of possession. Though it's still very early in the career of Garoppolo who has only three career starts to his name, the newest member of the Niners received some high praise from running back and fellow San Francisco teammate Carlos Hyde who said Jimmy G. reminded him of, "a young Tom Brady." And while he's still light years away from being held in the same regard as one of the game's all-time greats, it's safe to say the two share a handful of similar traits as Garoppolo displayed a comfort level that I wouldn't have imagined possible behind an offensive-line as spotty as San Francisco's. Garoppolo also excelled on third down (10 of 18), an area the Niners offense has been exceptionally awful in this season as the ten third down conversions were the most by a 49er team since 2007. Taking over with just under five and a half minutes remaining in regulation and trailing 14-12, Garoppolo made excellent work of the field and game-clock on San Francisco's final possession as he helped march his team 86-yards into field goal position while eating up 5:23 of time to set up kicker Robbie Gould who put the dagger into the heart of his former team with his fifth field of the day to give the 49ers the 15-14 win.
Week 14 Preview - Continuing their road trip, the 49ers will travel to Houston to take on the (4-8) Texans. Coming off a 24-13 loss to the division rival Titans on the road, the Texans will look to bounce back as they return to Reliant Stadium and play host to Garoppolo and the Niners. One of Kyle Shanahan's earliest employers in the NFL where he spent a total of four seasons as the team's wide receivers and quarterbacks coach before being promoted to offensive coordinator, Shanahan hopes to break even against his former employers after a Week ? loss to the Washington Redskins whom Shanahan also worked for in the past. Backed by a solid defense that features one of the most dominant defensive-lines in all of football, even without perennial Pro Bowler J.J. Watt who is out for the year with a ? injury, Garoppolo will be on high alert all afternoon long. The same can be said about the San Francisco secondary which will have to keep close tabs on one of the NFL's best receivers in DeAndre Hopkins who has tallied nine receiving touchdowns on the season and has already eclipsed the 1,000 yards receiving mark for the third time in five years. Throwing to Hopkins will be Texans quarterback Tom Savage who is looking to improve off a career-high 365 yards passing on 31 of 49 pass attempts in Sunday's loss. One way to limit Savage in the passing game will be getting to the QB who has had a hard time hanging onto the ball when he's being pressured as he's fumbled the ball eight times this year, losing seven.


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