The San Francisco 49ers picked up a big win on Sunday, as they dominated play against the Miami Dolphins in a 33-17 victory. That win came at a significant price, though, as Jimmy Garoppolo left the game in the first quarter and was carted to the locker room with a foot injury.
After the game, Kyle Shanahan revealed that Garoppolo had broken his foot and would require surgery, ending his season.
#49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo has a broken left foot, per Kyle Shanahan. He’s expected to miss the rest of the season.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) December 5, 2022
#49ers coach Kyle Shanahan tells reporters that QB Jimmy Garoppolo broke his foot. He’s having surgery and is out for the season.
“He’ll be out, he’ll need surgery, broke a few things in there.”
Brutal.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 5, 2022
Garoppolo is the second 49ers quarterback to suffer a season-ending injury after Trey Lance fractured his ankle in Week 2, thrusting Garoppolo back into the starting role. Now, the Niners will turn to Brock Purdy, who led them to the win against Miami on Sunday and showed impressive poise in orchestrating the offense, but it is certainly a big blow for a team with championship aspirations.
The 49ers are currently 8-4, riding a five-game winning streak in which they’ve looked lethal on both sides of the ball. They still have a championship caliber defense and a ton of weapons at the skill positions, but they’ll have to rely on this year’s Mr. Irrelevant, as Purdy was picked with the final selection in this past April’s Draft and now finds himself at the helm of one of the NFC’s top contenders.
While Garoppolo has taken his fair share of criticism for not being the type of dynamic quarterback that can lift a talented team to a championship, he has shown he’s a capable enough game-manager to get the Niners deep into the playoffs. With more weapons than ever around him this season, headlined by Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey, it seemed like San Francisco might have a chance to win it all with Garoppolo under center. Now it’s on Purdy to show what he’s capable of, but one would think it’ll further inhibit the Niners offense and make them lean on their elite defense and rushing attack. Whether that is the kind of style that can win a championship in 2023 is a significant question, but maybe Purdy has more juice than anyone anticipates.