INGLEWOOD -- Jimmy Garoppolo wore his emotions on his sleeve, knowing his time with the 49ers could be over after the team's 20-17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game.
The veteran quarterback focused on how special the season and the locker room has been in his postgame comments to the media. The club failed to hold onto a 10-point fourth-quarter lead, as they came up empty-handed on three straight drives in the fourth quarter.
It was the resilience of the team that Garoppolo was most proud of.
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“It’s impressive what we accomplished and obviously we came up short, but it was a fun year,” Garoppolo said. “That’s kind of our year in a nutshell. We were 3-5 at one point. People wrote us off but we kept fighting. It’s what good teams do. It’s what tight brothers do and I got no regrets from this year.”
After the game, Kyle Shanahan commended his quarterback. While the likelihood of Garoppolo returning to the 49ers next season is slim to none, the head coach refused to make any absolutes.
“I love Jimmy,” Shanahan said. "I’m not going to sit here and make a farewell statement right now. That’s the last stuff on my mind. Jimmy has battled his ass off and he battled today. He did some unbelievable stuff today and I love coaching Jimmy.”
Garoppolo finished the day completing 16 of his 30 attempts for 232 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The turnover occurred late in the fourth quarter when JaMycal Hasty couldn’t hold on to the ball and Rams safety Travin Howard came down with it to seal the game.
Throughout the season, Garoppolo had to manage each game while also controlling his emotions considering the club drafted his heir, Trey Lance with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
How Garoppolo kept it together is even a mystery to the quarterback himself.
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“I don’t know,” Garoppolo said. “A lot of good people around me. A lot of good people in this organization, players, just people in general. Surround yourself with good people and good things will take care of themselves.”
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The 49ers seemed to be fighting an uphill battle all season, after a slow start that included four consecutive losses. Calls for Garoppolo to be benched and Shanahan to be fired echoed throughout social media.
Through it all, the locker room stood behind their leader which led them to a deep run into the postseason. The way the season unfolded may have caused the loss to have more of an emotional impact on Garoppolo.
“They hit pretty hard in the locker room,” Garoppolo said of his emotions. “I think these next couple of days it will really start settle in a little bit. I love this team. The fight and battle in this team throughout the entire year has been really impressive and I love those guys.”