Jimmy Garoppolo has memorable homecoming in blowout win over Patriots

It was three years ago this week when Bill Belichick made one of the most debated trades in Patriots history, sending Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers for a second-round pick, ultimately letting go of his potential franchise quarterback for a few more years of Tom Brady.

On Sunday at Gillette Stadium, it all came full circle.

On the same day Brady was torching the Raiders in Las Vegas in a big Buccaneers victory, Garoppolo returned to his old stomping grounds for the first time since the trade. He was all smiles before the game as he caught up with old friends, including Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and when it was all over, he was still smiling after a 33-6 rout of the Patriots.

And just to pour salt in the wound, Garoppolo was easily the best quarterback on the field. The Patriots suffered from incompetent quarterback play, as Cam Newton was benched in the fourth quarter after throwing three interceptions, replaced by second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham.

Score it Jimmy G 1, Patriots 0.

“It was an exciting night, a lot of emotions,” Garoppolo said. “I couldn’t imagine it going any better than this.”

Garoppolo finished 20-for-25 with 277 yards and no touchdowns, but though he threw a pair of interceptions, he was in control. The quarterback set the tone on the first drive of the game.

After the Patriots won the opening coin toss, Belichick deferred the ball to the second half and Garoppolo didn’t miss on his first impression as a visitor against his former boss, leading a nine-play, 75-yard drive over a clinical five minutes that could have only irritated Belichick. He went 4-for-4 for 59 yards on the opening drive, which concluded with a three-yard score from Jeff Wilson.

The key play of the drive, though, was via Garoppolo’s feet. Facing third-and-3 at his own 32, the Patriots rushed the quarterback up the middle, but Garoppolo was able to get away, breaking a tackle from Ja’Whaun Bentley and getting enough for the first down. As he got up, he had a few words to say. He was clearly fired up.

“It was a cool week,” Garoppolo said of the build-up to his homecoming. “Just a lot of emotions, lot of memories, especially coming back here, seeing the same stadium and hearing the same songs that they used to play. A lot of memories came back. It was a lot of emotions out there but it was a fun night.”

Fun for Garoppolo. Not so fun for Belichick.

And for his teammates, it was fun to watch Garoppolo so successful in his return to where it all started for him.

“Just complete poise,” said wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. “You could feel the excitement, you could feel the energy bouncing off of him, but more than anything just poise, and we all felt that. We felt everything that he was giving off, so it was exciting, it was fun to see him be the way he was and just having fun playing football and he played a great game.”

That opening drive, ultimately, was all the Niners even needed. Their running game was almost unstoppable — 37 rushes for 197 yards — and their defense swallowed Newton and the Patriots offense. Garoppolo didn’t have to do a whole lot, but he offered a reminder every now and then of what Belichick’s missing.

His best pass of the game came in the third quarter, when the Niners were in complete command with a 23-6 lead. Facing another third down, Garoppolo delivered a dime to Aiyuk down the right sideline for a 35-yard gain, which set up Wilson’s third touchdown on the next play.

“They were mixing it up a lot,” Garoppolo said of the Patriots’ defense, which he went up against in practice for four years. “They mixed in the zone, they mixed in the man, gave us some different fronts we weren’t expecting. I thought our guys handled it really well. The coaches on the sideline, the adjustments we had to make, whatever it was, the communication was real clean tonight. I think it transferred down the field. It showed.”

By the end of it, Garoppolo had effectively handed the Patriots their worst home loss under Belichick, a 27-point beatdown. It’s something he certainly couldn’t have expected.

“I obviously wanted to come here and get a win,” Garoppolo said. “To me it didn’t matter if we won by 1 or 100. It was go and get the win. That was the mindset we had this week. Same mindset we had last week. Just got to keep that mindset the rest of the season.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/35vtopL