Garoppolo Freezes Once Again, Tennessee Titans Win on TNF, 20-17

The Tennessee Titans won against the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday Night Football, making a huge step towards the playoffs. The game’s final result was 20-17, with Randy Bullock scoring a 44-yard field goal four seconds before the end, bringing a win to the home team.

Tennessee now needs to win, or they see the Colts losing their next matchup to clinch the AFC South division and an automatic place in the postseason. Right now, they also hold the second spot in the conference, even though they don’t have their top player, Derrick Henry, available.

AJ Brown was the “man” for the hosts with 145 receiving yards on 11 catches, in his first game following an activation off the injured reserve list. He would also have a touchdown.

“He has a natural ability to get himself open. He has his size and his strength. There are some guys that they are just easy to throw to. He is one of those guys,” QB Ryan Tannehill said about his teammate.

Tannehill started the game slowly, but as time went by, he started heating up. Eventually, the Titans’ QB ended the game with 209 yards and a TD. On the other side, his colleague in San Francisco, Jimmy Garoppolo, once again proved to be a fluke in the clutch situations.

This was arguably the most important game of the year for the 49ers, who were doing great up to this point. The team from San Francisco needed this win to take a decisive step towards the playoffs, but as said, once again, Jimmy G disappeared when needing to deliver.

He ended the contest with 322 yards, one TD toss, and was picked twice, completing 26 of his 35 passing attempts. Garoppolo was under heavy pressure throughout the entire matchup, but even in the moments when he had clear situations, the former Patriot played extremely badly.

“Good, bad, or indifferent, I’m right here,” he said. “It doesn’t change for me. I wish we would have won it. … You’ve got to take your lumps, look at the film, be hard on ourselves, and for 10 days, we’ve got to get ready and move on to the next one.”

Jimmy Garoppolo has that special trait of being both over and underrated at the same time. No matter which side you believe, you’ll be right at some point

— Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) December 24, 2021

Deebo Samuel had 159 receiving yards, while Brandon Aiyuk caught one TD pass. The second one for the 49ers was provided by Jeff Wilson, who carried the football into the endzone. San Francisco had problems establishing the ground game, racking up only 83 rushing yards, almost twice as few as in previous events.

The 49ers’ defense was solid, posting four sacks, but they couldn’t pick Tannehill. Meanwhile, Amani Hooker and Janoris Jenkins had one interception for the hosts, making a big difference in this meeting.

Tennesee will host the Miami Dolphins next week in their last game at home this regular season. After that, Mike Vrabel’s unit travels to Houston to play against the sorry Texans. They still have chances to win the AFC no.1 seed, but the Kansas City Chiefs need to lose some of their contests.

As for the 49ers, they host the Texans next week, and after that, head to LA to meet the Rams in the regular-season finale. Tonight’s loss might cost them a lot. With eight wins and seven defeats, San Francisco is on the verge of falling out of the playoff zone. Currently, at least three teams might catch up with them already after this round.