The San Francisco 49ers are in transition. And who’s to say if this transition should even be happening? If Trey Lance was the future at quarterback, the future will have to be put on hold.
Lance, who was taken with the third pick in the 2021 draft, broke his ankle against the Seattle Seahawks last week. And that brings Jimmy Garroppolo back onto the stage. Considering that the Niners made it to the NFC title game last year, that stage can become a big one.
It’s all in Jimmy G’s hands now. And that begins again with a date against the Denver Broncos in the Sunday Night Football special on NBC. Kickoff time is 8:20 PM ET from Mile High.
Here are the Sunday Night NFL betting odds on the game, as they are posted at BetOnline
San Francisco 49ers vs. Denver Broncos Odds by BetOnline
| Team | SP/RL | TOTAL | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49ers | -1½ ( -110 ) | 45 ( -110 ) | -225 |  |
| Broncos | +1½ ( -110 ) | 45 ( -110 ) | +105 | |
|
||||
And yes, keep in mind that with Odds Boosters, you’re going to have access to explosive payouts on pre-selected parlays, every day of the week!
Jimmy G – winning from the beginning
If you recall, San Francisco paid a reasonable price to get Garoppolo from the New England Patriots in 2017. Surrendering a second-round draft pick, they acquired a guy who was looked upon by some as an heir apparent to Tom Brady. We say “some,” because Bill Belichick obviously did not feel that way. And Brady wasn’t altogether comfortable with having an “heir apparent” in his midst.
Whatever the case, after he sat for four years as a backup, Jimmy G studied the San Francisco playbook for a while. Then they finally put him into the lineup when the team had a 1-10 record. All he did was lead them to victories in each of the last five games and create a lot of hope for 2018. But he went down with an ACL injury which ended the 2018 campaign for him. In 2019, he led the Niners to the Super Bowl. In 2020, his season was cut short by injuries again. And last season, he finished among the top five QB’s in the NFL in yards per attempt and took the team to the NFC title game.
On the market – why?
You would not think any of this would fit the profile of someone the team wanted to ship off somewhere else. But indeed it did. And prior to last season, the 49ers made Lance the #3 selection in the draft, even though he had played at the FCS level at North Dakota State. And it was no secret that they were going to hand Lance the job this season, which they did.
in regular season action, Garoppolo has compiled a 33-14 record as a starting quarterback. Lance was just 0-1, with a sloppy effort in sloppy conditions in Chicago in Week 1. Now GM John Lynch is eternally grateful that he was not able to make a deal to trade Jimmy G, who was suffering from a shoulder injury as the season concluded.
Putting the enormity of the QB move in perspective
If not for a dropped interception, the 49ers would have been able to go back to the Super Bowl last season. That would have been two Super Bowls in three years for Garoppolo. Yet they had handed the starting spot to someone who was raw and unproven. And a guy who may have had to take his lumps for a while before making it in the NFL, had he ever made it at all.
Players notice this kind of thing. And don’t think for one moment they didn’t question the wisdom of it.
They don’t openly talk about it. And Garoppolo mentions that he wasn’t going to try and force a move to get out. He says that’s just not his makeup. We can tell you this, though. There is no sense of panic, but instead excitement.
Running back Elijah Mitchell sprained his MCL and will be unavailable. But tight end George Kittle will be back in action after sitting out the first two games.
Kittle stresses that it’s a big factor having a “backup” who knows the offense as well as Jimmy G. He referred to it as “very beneficial for us. It was just good energy this whole week.”
Meanwhile, there’s a new guy in Denver…
And everybody knows Russell Wilson. But he’s still trying to get to know his teammates. We’re not saying the offense is sputtering; in fact, the Broncos are #1 in the league in yards per drive. But they are only #18 in points per drive. So they aren’t “finishing.” Nathaniel Hackett has brought on an assistant who is going to help him manage game situations after things got ugly toward the end of the season opener against Seattle.
Right now, at this moment, the 49ers look refreshed and ready to be sharp with Garoppolo. And Jimmy G may be ready to save team management from the proposition that they could have looked really bad if Lance had flopped.
When he’s healthy, they usually win. And that’s exactly what I’d expect on Sunday night.
Winning is also something you can do plenty of at BetOnline, where they pay you off big on parlays with Odds Boosters, give you dozens and dozens of angles with Prop Builder and leave the “Live Betting” windows open all the way. On top of that, they’ll accept every conceivable cryptocurrency available for deposits!
