Jimmy Garoppolo didn’t produce eye-popping numbers during his time as the 49ers quarterback, but he did pilot the team to wins in 38 of his 55 starts for the NFC West team.
That knack for finding a way to win presented itself in his Raiders debut. After giving up an early lead, the Raiders took over the ball on their own 25-yard-line down 16-10 with just under nine minutes to play. Garoppolo completed four straight passes, including a six-yard touchdown to Jakobi Meyers, to lift the Raiders into the lead and then iced the win with an eight-yard run on a third-and-seven play coming out of the two-minute warning.
After the 17-16 win was in the books, Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels praised the quarterback’s ability to come up with the right play at the right time.
“He’s a good leader. He’s won a lot of games in this league,” McDaniels said, via the team’s website. “I think the guys in the locker room know who they have and what this guy can do, how competitive he is. He’s a very good leader. He’s a great communicator. Just does what it takes to win. Doesn’t care about his statistics or anything like that, it’s just ‘whatever I can do at my position to try to help the team win, I’m going to try to do it.’ Super happy that he’s a Raider.”
Wide receiver Davante Adams said, via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com, that “this type of game was the difference in our season” last year because the Raiders were unable to finish while losing nine games by a touchdown or less. If Garoppolo can continue to improve on that record, the Raiders should find smoother sailing in the coming weeks as well.