Jimmy Garoppolo had never recorded a pancake block in his NFL career. This was expected, as he is a quarterback and not an offensive lineman.
Jimmy Garoppolo blocked Vikings Pro Bowl linebacker Anthony Barr right on his butt, haaaa
Anthony Barr got put on his ass by a blocking quarterback.
That streak ended Saturday against the Vikings. With his offense in need of a spark after Minnesota had tied the game at 7-7 early in the first half, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan dialed up a reverse sweep out of the backfield that put the young passer right in the line of fire. The 225-pound quarterback with a history of season-shortening injuries engaged 255-pound, four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Anthony Barr as wideout Deebo Samuel searched for running room behind him.
Moments later, Barr was on his butt, scrambling to find his way back into the play.
Garoppolo didn’t throw his full weight into a defender who could truck him or dive at his target’s knees — he just used the momentum of a backpedaling linebacker against him. Once Barr planted his feet in an effort to turn upfield at Samuel, his center of gravity shifted. He’d need to spring forward to stay upright — and Garoppolo denied him. With a simple shove, the accomplished tackler was forced to reset from a comfortable spot on the turf while the San Francisco QB remained in the play.
This was a smart, successful block from a passer who could have Jay Cutler’ed his way through a half-jog downfield as his runner got lit up behind him. Or, worse yet, he could have taken the Daniel Jones approach and been obliterated while adding no value to the play itself.
Instead, Garoppolo delivered a smart move that cleared space for Samuel to gain a few extra yards.
While it seemed as though Samuel turned the ball over in the midst of his fight upfield, that fumble was overturned upon review. Six plays later, Tevin Coleman would crash into the end zone on a 1-yard dive to make the score 14-7 49ers. Garoppolo’s services as a blocker would not be needed on that play.
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