MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — If the line between good and great quarterbacks is drawn in the clutch moments of the Super Bowl, only one of Jimmy Garoppolo’s passes really mattered.
With the 49ers trailing by four points with 93 seconds remaining on the fourth-quarter clock, Emmanuel Sanders was streaking behind the Chiefs defense for a possible go-ahead 51-yard touchdown. The ball sailed over Sanders’ head as he stumbled to the ground and laid on his back, hands on his head to acknowledge the missed opportunity.
How close was he to catching it and saving the 49ers from a 31-20 loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl 2020?
“That’s a dumb question,” a terse Sanders said.
Anything but.
The distance — it looked like 5 yards — is the difference between the 49ers and the Lombardi Trophy, between Garoppolo answering his critics and returning next season to suggestions he is along for the defense-driven ride.
“We missed some shots tonight, some plays that we usually make,” Garoppolo said. “It was a tough one.”
Garoppolo started sharp, hitting 18 of his first 22 passes as the 49ers jumped out to a 20-10 lead at the end of the third quarter. He finished 20 of 31 for 219 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
But the 49ers gained just three first downs on their first three fourth-quarter possessions — resulting in two punts and a turnover on downs — and the Chiefs scored three touchdowns in that span. Game over.
“A good team, a good defense,” Garoppolo said. “You have to give some credit to them. They had some new wrinkles coming into the game. With two weeks to prepare, you kind of expect that.”
Perhaps the biggest indictment was coach Kyle Shanahan seemed not to trust Garoppolo, as he coached conservatively by running out the clock in the final two minutes of a tied first half because he was afraid of what a punt by his team would mean by giving another possession to the Chiefs.
And Shanahan called for a 42-yard field goal on fourth-and-2 early in the third quarter.
“Jimmy’s a baller,” said left tackle Joe Staley, the longest-tenured member of the 49ers. “I’m grateful he’s our leader, our quarterback. I’ll go with that guy any day of the week.”
Garoppolo has two Super Bowl rings as a backup to Tom Brady, so he knows better than anyone that quarterbacks are judged in February, especially when carrying a $137 million contract. He talked with reverence about Brady’s demeanor in leading the Patriots to a 25-point comeback and overtime win against the Falcons in Super Bowl LI, when Shanahan, then the Atlanta offensive coordinator, also was on the losing end.
“I think there were some good things,” Shanhan said of Garoppolo. “I thought he played all right.”
The overthrow to Sanders was the third of three straight incompletions and Garoppolo was sacked on fourth down. It wasn’t the storybook ending to his first full season as a starter, returning from an ACL injury that marred 2018.
“Those are the moments you dream of,” Garoppolo said. “We got rolling on a right note and couldn’t finish off. Hell of a ride, but at the end of the day people just remember the wins and losses.”