GLENDALE, Ariz. — On Tuesday, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was asked if he was OK with not getting much of the attention for his team’s unblemished start.
Garoppolo smiled, shrugged his shoulders and replied, “I’m all right with being undefeated, yeah.”
Two days later, Garoppolo and the Niners not only remained unbeaten by virtue of their 28-25 win against the Arizona Cardinals but Garoppolo silenced, at least for one night, those questioning whether he could carry the freight when the defense and running game aren’t firing on all cylinders.
With the win, the Niners improved to 8-0 on the season, joining the New England Patriots as the only teams in the league carrying that record at this point in the season.
Garoppolo, who was traded to San Francisco from New England exactly two years ago on Halloween, put together perhaps the best start of his career to get them there.
After a quick turnaround from Sunday’s blowout win against the Carolina Panthers, Garoppolo ended Thursday night’s game against Arizona with a career-high four touchdown passes, including three in the first half. His final line from the night saw him go 28-of-37 for 317 yards with the quartet of scores and no interceptions for a passer rating of 136.9, also a new career high.
Just as important as the touchdowns, Garoppolo delivered on third down repeatedly, including on a pivotal final drive as the Niners put the pesky Cardinals away. He hit receiver Emmanuel Sanders for 16 yards on third-and-11 from Arizona’s 25 and tight end Ross Dwelley for 11 yards on third-and-4 to keep that drive going and finished the game 12-of-14 for 159 yards and three touchdowns on third down. Nine of his 12 completions moved the chains.
With the four touchdown throws in the first three quarters, Garoppolo became the first Niners quarterback to throw that many scores in the opening three quarters of a regular-season game since Jeff Garcia did it in 2003 against the Cardinals.
Garoppolo’s fourth touchdown pass was one of his best throws of the night, dropping it perfectly over Arizona defenders in the corner of the end zone to wideout Dante Pettis for the score.
Although he still put together one of his best statistical performances, Garoppolo’s stat line could have been even bigger were it not for drops such as receiver Deebo Samuel’s in the end zone and another in the fourth quarter on a screen to running back Tevin Coleman that might have gone for a big gain.
Regardless, Garoppolo’s effort was just enough to get the Niners to 8-0 as they survived their toughest test since Week 3. The victory puts them with the Patriots in some promising company. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, this is the fourth time in the Super Bowl era that multiple teams have started undefeated through eight games. In each of the previous three instances, at least one of those teams made the Super Bowl and in 2009, the Saints and Colts met in the Super Bowl.
The win also bolstered Garoppolo’s career record, moving it to 16-2 in 18 starts. Garoppolo is the fifth quarterback in NFL history to win at least 16 of his first 18 starts, according to research by the Elias Sports Bureau. He joined Daryle Lamonica, Ben Roethlisberger, Dan Marino and Roger Staubach in that group. He’s now 14-2 in his career with the Niners.