Jimmy Garoppolo spreads the ball, the love in 49ers offense's huge day

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SANTA CLARA — It was National Tight Ends Day, but Jimmy Garoppolo didn't just throw the ball to George Kittle. In fact, the 49ers quarterback smartly passed to seven different receivers Sunday, and that was a crucial component of the 49ers' 51-13 win over the Carolina Panthers.

The 49ers didn't need to rely on Garoppolo's arm this time because of a revived run game that had been slowed in previous weeks. He completed 18 of 22 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns, along with one interception that he jokingly blamed on the "holiday."

"Bad decision," Garoppolo said. "It was National Tight Ends Day. I was trying to get George the ball. No, just a bad decision."

Kittle still was Garoppolo's top target, with six receptions for 86 yards, and the tight end was a direct beneficiary of Emmanuel Sanders' addition to San Francisco's roster. Sanders was involved in the game plan early, and Garoppolo didn’t expect anything less from the savvy veteran wide receiver in his first week after the trade from Denver.

"He's coming from a similar offense [Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello was the 49ers' quarterback coach last season], so the verbiage is a little different, but he caught on very quickly," Garoppolo said. "For a guy to be here for only a few days and get as much playing time as he did today and really have no hiccups or anything like that, it's impressive."

The 49ers tallied 388 yards in total offense without their two starting tackles and fullback Kyle Juszczyk. Garoppolo was brought down three times by a Panthers defense that led the NFL in sacks entering Week 8, including once for a safety that 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan blamed on himself.

"I was kicking myself for that call," Shanahan said. "We did a run, got it out a little bit. Thought we'd get a little bit different of a look, [and] we didn’t. Always want to put pressure on the quarterback to get it out, never take a sack. But he had no chance on that.

"Jimmy did a good job just protecting the ball, not making it worse. Taking a safety on that was probably the best play because it was the only play that you could do. I'm just glad we were able to play defense and score the next time we got it, so that didn't end up biting us."

[RELATED: Panthers' Irvin claims 49ers "not world-beaters"]

The 49ers next play Thursday night in Arizona, and because of that short week, they'll most likely remain without Mike McGlinchey and Joe Staley on their offensive line. Garoppolo remains confident in backups Daniel Brunskill and Justin Skule, though, after the fill-in jobs they've done.

"Both of them, just from the beginning,” Garoppolo said. "When you don't notice those guys, it's a good thing. Every one of these games, it's just they're so consistent in what they do, how they approach it every day, and for two young guys, it's impressive."

Also impressive: The 49ers are 7-0 this season, with an offense that's showing top-tier balance despite the injuries.

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