| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Tot | |
| TEN | 0 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 23 |
| SF | 6 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 25 |
The San Francisco 49ers have their franchise quarterback.
Jimmy Garoppolo's Week-15 performance against the Tennessee Titans demonstrated how essential it is to have that franchise quarterback.
With eighty seconds remaining in the fourth quarter -- and down 22-20 -- the Titans had a 3rd-and-2 from San Francisco's 32-yard line. The 49ers knew that all they had to do was stop the Titans on third down. The Titans could very well make their long 4th-down field goal attempt, but it wouldn't matter. Jimmy Garoppolo would get the ball back with over a minute on the clock.
And everyone in the stadium knew what would happen next.
The 49ers did stop the Titans on third down, and the Titans did make the long field-goal attempt -- and took a one-point lead. After the subsequent kickoff, Garoppolo jogged onto the field with one timeout and 66 seconds left on the clock. And then Garoppolo did what a franchise quarterback does.
Three passes later, Garoppolo spiked the ball to stop the clock at the Titans' 30-yard line. A few seconds later, the 49ers swarmed kicker Robbie Gould after his game-winning field goal split the uprights as time expired.
Garoppolo's heroics weren't limited to the final drive. Throughout the game, the 49ers were stymied on the ground and were forced to attack the Titans through the air against heavy pressure. Garoppolo responded with 381 passing yards on 43 pass attempts, many of which were thrown moments before he was slammed to the ground by Tennessee defenders.
Garoppolo makes Buffalo Bills outcast Marquise Goodwin look like a true number-one wide receiver. Garoppolo gives Garrett Celek -- who led all tight ends in drops in 2016 -- his own "It's Celek Time" catchphrase in 2017. Garoppolo leads a 1-10 team to three straight victories.
Thanks to "Jimmy Franchise," the future is bright for the San Francisco 49ers.
| TEN | Team Stats | SF |
| 23 | First Downs | 23 |
| 328 | Total Yards | 414 |
| 238 | Pass Yards | 363 |
| 90 | Rush Yards | 51 |
| 3 (22) | Penalties (Yds) | 7 (70) |
| 1 | Turnovers | 0 |
| 2 (50) | Punts (Avg) | 1 (43) |
| 27:25 | Time of Pos. | 32:35 |
| Titans Player Stats | ||||
| Passing | Cmp/Att | Yds | TDs | INTs |
| M. Mariota | 23/33 | 241 | 2 | 0 |
| Rushing | Att | Yds | TDs | Lg |
| D. Murray | 18 | 59 | 0 | 11 |
| D. Henry | 7 | 19 | 0 | 10 |
| T. Taylor | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| M. Mariota | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Receiving | Rec | Yds | TDs | Lg |
| R. Matthews | 6 | 95 | 1 | 25 |
| E. Decker | 5 | 63 | 0 | 17 |
| D. Walker | 5 | 37 | 1 | 13 |
| C. Davis | 3 | 28 | 0 | 13 |
| D. Henry | 2 | 9 | 0 | 8 |
| J. Smith | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| D. Murray | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Fumbles | Fum | Lost | Rec | Yds |
| D. Walker | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kicking | FG | Lg | XP | Pts |
| R. Succop | 3/3 | 50 | 2/2 | 11 |
| Punting | No | Avg | I20 | Lg |
| B. Kern | 2 | 55.5 | 1 | 59 |
| Kickoff Returns | No | Avg | TDs | Lg |
| A. Jackson | 1 | 21 | 0 | 21 |
| Punt Returns | No | Avg | TDs | Lg |
| A. Jackson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defense | T-A | Sck | INTs | FF |
| W. Woodyard | 7-3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Jackson | 8-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Williamson | 6-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Cyprien | 3-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Brown | 5-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Sims | 5-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Byard | 5-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| E. Walden | 2-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Casey | 2-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Ryan | 3-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| S. Williams | 2-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Johnson | 2-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| B. McCain | 2-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Dodd | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Searcy | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| B. Orakpo | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49ers Player Stats | ||||
| Passing | Cmp/Att | Yds | TDs | INTs |
| J. Garoppolo | 31/43 | 381 | 1 | 0 |
| Rushing | Att | Yds | TDs | Lg |
| C. Hyde | 16 | 25 | 0 | 8 |
| M. Breida | 5 | 16 | 0 | 6 |
| M. Goodwin | 1 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Receiving | Rec | Yds | TDs | Lg |
| M. Goodwin | 10 | 114 | 0 | 18 |
| K. Bourne | 4 | 85 | 0 | 54 |
| G. Kittle | 4 | 52 | 0 | 24 |
| T. Taylor | 4 | 40 | 0 | 17 |
| G. Celek | 3 | 63 | 1 | 41 |
| K. Juszczyk | 2 | 16 | 0 | 9 |
| C. Hyde | 2 | 14 | 0 | 8 |
| A. Robinson | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| J. Garoppolo | 1 | -6 | 0 | -6 |
| Fumbles | Fum | Lost | Rec | Yds |
| A. Colbert | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kicking | FG | Lg | XP | Pts |
| R. Gould | 6/6 | 50 | 1/1 | 19 |
| Punting | No | Avg | I20 | Lg |
| B. Pinion | 1 | 43 | 0 | 43 |
| Kickoff Returns | No | Avg | TDs | Lg |
| M. Breida | 4 | 16 | 0 | 28 |
| Punt Returns | No | Avg | TDs | Lg |
| T. Taylor | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Defense | T-A | Sck | INTs | FF |
| D. Buckner | 7-2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| R. Foster | 7-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| E. Reid | 6-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Johnson | 6-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Colbert | 5-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| B. Coyle | 4-1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| A. Witherspoon | 3-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| S. Thomas | 2-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| S. Day | 2-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Williams | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Marsh | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| E. Mitchell | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T. Carradine | 0-1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Hall | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Written By:
You may have seen Chris Wilson's work on NFL game theory, statistical analysis, and film breakdowns at Minute Media, FanSided, Niner Noise, Insidethe49, LockedonSports, ClutchPoints, and others. Follow Chris on Twitter @cgawilson.
All articles by Chris Wilson
Chris Wilson
You may have seen Chris Wilson's work on NFL game theory, statistical analysis, and film breakdowns at Minute Media, FanSided, Niner Noise, Insidethe49, LockedonSports, ClutchPoints, and others. Follow Chris on Twitter @cgawilson.
All articles by Chris Wilson
Related News
More San Francisco 49ers News
-
San Francisco 49ers' 2025 opponents finalized after clinching last-place schedule
The San Francisco 49ers' Week 17 loss to the Detroit Lions officially locked the team into last place in the NFC West, regardless of the outcome of their Week 18 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. While the season has been disappointing, the silver lining is that the 49ers... -
49ers mailbag: Why did SF abandon the run against Detroit? Will the 49ers focus on offense or defense this offseason? Will SF replace Nick Sorensen with Robert Saleh?
There are a lot of questions that will follow the San Francisco 49ers into the offseason. Who will get extensions? Who will be let go? What moves will they make in free agency and the draft? And many more. You have questions, as well, and that's a good thing because we opened... -
49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall opens up about adversity-filled season
San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall has endured a challenging first year in the NFL. The season didn't unfold as planned, beginning with injuries during training camp. Just as he was nearing recovery and aiming to be ready for Week 1, tragedy... -
49ers TE George Kittle reaches milestone against Lions
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle needed just 33 yards on Monday night to secure his fourth career season with at least 1,000 receiving yards. Kittle reached the milestone in the first quarter against the Detroit Lions, accomplishing it on the play shown...