Former 49ers offensive tackle Joe Staley noticed something off with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in San Francisco’s 11-10 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday night at Empower Field at Mile High.
Garoppolo completed 18 of 29 passes for 211 yards while also throwing one touchdown pass and one interception in his first start of the 2022 NFL season.
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Staley protected the 30-year-old in the past and knows what Garoppolo looks like on a good day. In Denver, that’s not what Staley saw.
“It’s easy now hindsight saying like well he didn’t have training camp and all that stuff,” Staley told KNBR’s “Papa & Lund” on Monday. “He’s coming back from a shoulder injury but yeah, it just wasn’t a great game.
“He looked off. Throws weren’t quite there. Even stuff to the sideline. Quick screen passes or swing passes out to the receiver looked high, low, it wasn’t there completely.”
FS1’s Colin Cowherd referenced coming off shoulder surgery on Garoppolo's throwing arm and the lack of training camp as factors that played into the quarterback's poor showing against the Broncos.
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Meanwhile, Staley didn't offer insight into what might have led to the underwhelming performance from Garoppolo but hopes that Sunday’s loss to Denver is a one-off and will not repeat itself.
“From my vantage point in the stands, it just wasn’t clicking, and I’ve been there,” Staley added.
“We’ve had really good teams where just one day it wasn’t there. Offensively hopefully this isn’t the Niners offense we’re going to see the rest of the season. Hopefully, this was just a blip.”
RELATED: Jimmy Garoppolo still 'best option' for 49ers, Donte Whitner believes
Garoppolo will have an opportunity to show that Sunday night’s loss to the Broncos was indeed a blip when the 49ers face off against NFC West rival the Los Angeles Rams on “Monday Night Football” at Levi’s Stadium.
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