Jimmy Garoppolo played some mad game on Monday, and he also talked some mad game afterwards.
Garoppolo’s San Francisco 49ers upset the Los Angeles Rams in a divisional showdown. They set the tone with an 18-play opening drive that bled over 11 minutes of clock and ended in a touchdown pass from Garoppolo to George Kittle. The 49ers never looked back from there and won 31-10.
After the game, Garoppolo spoke about the opening drive and got in some trash talk for the Rams too.
“I don’t want to say it took their soul away,” he said of the drive, per Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. “But it definitely did something.”
The Rams, who entered the week with one of the best records in the league, saw both Odell Beckham Jr and Von Miller make their team debuts Monday. It was also the team’s first game since receiver Robert Woods was knocked out for the season with a torn ACL. But the Rams were simply outplayed by the 49ers on both sides of the football. Garoppolo completed 15 of 19 pass attempts with two touchdowns and zero interceptions, easily outplaying Matthew Stafford, who went 26 of 41 with one touchdown and two picks.
There is already a renewed NorCal-SoCal rivalry brewing between the 49ers and the Rams. Garoppolo probably takes it personally too that his team recently tried to replace him with a Rams player.
Photo: Sep 26, 2021; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) walks on the field before the game against the Green Bay Packers at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
