Jimmy Garoppolo’s postseason productivity hasn’t been impressive from a volume standpoint. His 27 pass attempts, 208 yards, one touchdown and one interception through two games have raised questions about his ability to carry the 49ers in a Super Bowl.
While the small sample size of a couple postseason games certainly garners that kind of question, the larger, full-season sample size we have indicates Garoppolo and the 49ers offense will be fine if the quarterback has to throw it 30-plus times, or come up with points in crunch time. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey expressed this sentiment during the Super Bowl Bye week with 95.7 the Game in San Francisco.
He certainly wasn’t perfect, and had some big moments come late in games where he didn’t perform very well overall. His numbers when trailing say a lot about why the 49ers have so much faith in their quarterback.
San Francisco didn’t spend a lot of time behind in games, but when they were down, Garoppolo completed 72.7 percent of his 161 throws. He had 1,470 yards, 11 touchdowns, three interceptions and 9.1 yards per attempt when the 49ers were behind in a game. His yards per attempt, completion rate, and 115.7 passer rating were all higher than when the 49ers were ahead or tied.
His 13.5 pass attempts per game have been anomaly borne from a dominant run game and big, early leads.
For evidence that Garoppolo is capable of throwing the 49ers to wins, here are seven times the 49ers rode their quarterback to victory this season.