49ers' Kyle Shanahan: Jimmy Garoppolo's 2 INTs vs. Titans 'Not All on Him'
December 24, 2021
There is never a good time to throw an interception, but Jimmy Garoppolo's two picks during the San Francisco 49ers' 20-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans were particularly poor-timed.
His head coach didn't place all the blame on the quarterback.
"Two turnovers cost you, but that's not all on him," Kyle Shanahan told reporters. "That's on everybody out there."
San Francisco had a chance to put the game away in the first half when its defense held the Titans without a point. It looked like it would do just that when it marched down the field for a touchdown on the opening drive and moved into scoring range again on its second drive.
However, Garoppolo threw a pick in the end zone to miss a golden opportunity to create some breathing room.
NFL @NFLHUGE REDZONE PICK. The Jackrabbit! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Titans?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Titans</a><br><br>📺: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SFvsTEN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SFvsTEN</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/nflnetwork?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NFLNetwork</a><br>📱: <a href="https://t.co/3mPIe4up1m">https://t.co/3mPIe4up1m</a> <a href="https://t.co/uKZ2PKtPES">pic.twitter.com/uKZ2PKtPES</a>
"We had it," Garoppolo told reporters when discussing the first interception. "It was tough. Me and George [Kittle] not being on the same page. Got to get it right, get it completed and it should be a touchdown. The corner played it pretty well. We should have had a touchdown there."
That was just the start of Garoppolo's struggles, as he missed a wide-open Kyle Juszczyk on a deep ball, missed Brandon Aiyuk on a fourth down for a turnover on downs and threw his second interception in the third quarter to set up the Titans' game-tying touchdown.
"Our first play in the third quarter on offense was a pick," Shanahan said. "That was a bad one. Should have thrown that away. That was a bad play; no one was open on the play. He just had to take it."
The mistakes opened the door for Tennessee's comeback, as A.J. Brown took over in the second half. Ryan Tannehill also broke free for a long run to set up Randy Bullock's game-winning field goal in the final seconds.
"Frustrated I'd say," Garoppolo told reporters. "It's a game we had an opportunity to go into their place, got the lead like we wanted to. Hit a lull in the middle, and if we didn't, it's a totally different game."
The 49ers were eliminated from the NFC West race as a result.