49ers-Broncos: Jimmy Garoppolo, Russell Wilson have only wins in common
Russell Wilson and Jimmy Garoppolo have nothing in common except the bottom line.
Wilson has a carefully crafted persona, a superstar wife in Ciara and is out and about in the offseason whether it’s watching his sister Anna play for Stanford’s women’s basketball team or sitting in the stands at the U.S. Open cheering on Serena Williams.
Garoppolo is a recluse by comparison, keeping his private life private with the exception of putting his good looks to work to advertise for Subway.
If anything seemed obvious at the close of the 2021 season, it was that Wilson would still be in Seattle and Garoppolo was going to be in a new uniform with the 49ers committing to Trey Lance a year earlier by virtue of trading up for the third pick in the draft.
Yet here we are in Week 3, with Wilson going through initial growing pains attempting to lift the Denver Broncos out of a five-year 39-58 abyss with no playoffs since they won Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium.
Garoppolo is where no one thought he’d be, as starter for the 49ers. He swallowed his pride and accepted a pay cut and the role as backup to Lance, who broke his right fibula in Week 2 and is done for the season.
It’s enough to give NBC sensory overload with the available storylines for Sunday night’s game in Denver on national television. A week ago, Garoppolo was running the scout team.
“You’re preparing that way, and then just for how things have worked out, it’s pretty crazy,” Garoppolo said Thursday.
The 49ers got a look at the Seattle Seahawks last week minus Wilson and won 27-7. With Wilson at quarterback from 2012 through last season, Seattle was 17-4 against the 49ers including an NFC Championship. They weren’t the same without him.
Wilson is also 4-1 when the opposing quarterback is Garoppolo and 8-2 against the 49ers since Shanahan took over in 2017.
To hear Wilson tell it, you’d think he was 4-17 against the 49ers rather than the other way around. He compared 49ers linebacker Fred Warner to former Seattle teammate Bobby Wagner, called Kyle Shanahan “brilliant,” Nick Bosa a “monster” and lauded the championship pedigree of the franchise.
“You cherish the moments of playing against some all-time greats, and they definitely have those guys,” Wilson told the Denver media.
The Broncos have been less than impressive through two games offensively, failing in the red zone six times and scoring 16 points in a win over Houston. Rookie head coach Nathaniel Hackett elected to have Brandon McManus attempt a 64-yard field goal (he missed) in the opener rather than trust Wilson with a fourth-and-5 and time still on the clock in a 17-16 loss to the Seahawks.
Last week against Houston, another team seemingly destined for double-digit losses, the Broncos scored all of 16 points and Hackett struggled to get plays in on time.
The only healthy way for the 49ers to approach it is to assume whatever magic Wilson had against them with Seattle will still be on display. The 49ers faced Justin Fields in Week 1 and Geno Smith in Week 2. Defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans understands what they’re up against in Week 3.
“Russell is still Russell,” Ryans said. “He’s still that guy.”
Warner smiled when asked about facing Wilson again even after he was dealt out of the division and the conference.
“Can’t escape him,” Warner said. “Just playing against him all these years, his escapability and the savvy, the big play ability — you have to make sure you keep him in front and contain him. If you give him a sliver of space, he’ll take it. He’s looking to run around and throw the ball. If he does get you in open space, he will try and juke you too.”
While Wilson is creative brilliance on the fly, Garoppolo at his best operates with precision and execution with limited mobility. There is not going to be a lot of improvisation or pushing the ball downfield no matter how wistful Garoppolo may be about the days in 2017 when he got to the 49ers on Halloween and eventually took over a team with a 1-10 record.
Wilson has been durable, playing every game for his first nine seasons (before missing three games last year) despite being sacked 432 times and rushing for 4,694 yards. Garoppolo has missed 24 games since taking over as the 49ers’ starter in 2017. More than anything, it’s Garoppolo’s penchant for injury as well as the occasional inexplicable interception that gave Shanahan the wandering eye that brought Lance aboard.
Someone who was a little more like — dare we say it? — Russell Wilson.
Yet there is no denying Garoppolo, whatever his shortcomings, has been a winning player. His record with the 49ers is 35-16 (including playoffs) and a .686 winning percentage is even better than Wilson’s .637 at 114-61-1.
Garoppolo, however, is still playing to win over a coaching staff that had moved on from him, his future very much uncertain with free agency beckoning following the season and Lance ostensibly healed and good to go. He may need a Super Bowl ring to be invited back.
Wilson, 34, cost the Broncos first- and second-round draft picks in 2022 and 2023 plus tight end Noah Fant, quarterback Drew Lock and defensive lineman Shelby Harris. He signed a $235 million extension with $165 million in guarantees — a figure Seattle was unwilling to pay. He’ll be the Broncos quarterback for the foreseeable future.
Not surprisingly, about the only interaction Garoppolo and Wilson have had is with post-game handshakes. Different personalities, different worlds.
“Tremendous player, just a freak athlete,” Garoppolo said of Wilson. “Makes plays that shouldn’t be made. I haven’t had much time to meet him, but on the field, the dude is as competitive as it gets and as weird as that sounds, it’s fun to go against him.”
If Garoppolo can hold up physically, it’s a year-long crusade to prove that the 49ers made a mistake by giving away his starting job.
“It lights a fire under you, I’ll tell you that,” Garoppolo said. “As a competitor, whenever you get told something like that, it will get you going a little bit. But I’ve got plenty of motivation. I don’t need that to motivate me, but it helps.”
Beating Russell Wilson would be a step in the right direction.