Jimmy Garoppolo hasn’t been perfect in 2019, but his season is quietly climbing the list of all-time great seasons by a 49ers’ signal caller.
With 307 passing yards Sunday, Garoppolo would become the first 49ers quarterback since Jeff Garcia in 2000 to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. Garcia that year set the franchise record with 4,278 yards through the air. Steve Young also accomplished the 4,000-yard feat in 1993 and 1998.
Garoppolo isn’t on track to surpass Garcia’s team record, but the fact 4,000 is attainable is pretty remarkable considering how little the team threw early in the year. He’d have the second-fewest attempts of any 49ers QB to reach 4,000 yards, and he was averaging just 27 attempts per game through the first eight weeks – the fewest in the league.
If Garoppolo tosses three touchdown passes in Seattle, he’d get to 30 touchdown passes for the season. Doing so would make him the fifth quarterback in team history to get to 30 TD passes. He’d be the first since Garcia in 2001. Garcia and Young each threw 30 touchdown passes in a season. Joe Montana and John Brodie both did it once.
A strong showing against the Seahawks could also bolster Garoppolo’s already-stellar 101.0 passer rating. Finishing above 100.0 would make him only the fifth quarterback in team history to finish a season with that mark. Alex Smith and Frankie Albert each did it once, although Smith played in just 10 games the year he accomplished that feat. Young did it six times, and Montana did it three times.
Only Young in 1998 finished with all three – 4,000 yards, 30 touchdowns and a rating above 100.0.
None of those marks are guaranteed for Garoppolo, especially considering the recent lack of success by 49ers quarterbacks at CenturyLink Field. However, if the 49ers’ signal caller does reach 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns, it likely means a dominant performance and a 49ers win. While the statistical plateaus are nice, the NFC West and top seed in the NFC are the accomplishments that will get Garoppolo trending toward a spot on the Mt. Rushmore of great quarterbacks.