Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers revelled in a win they won't forget for a long time after claiming a dramatic 27-24 overtime triumph over the Los Angeles Rams to punch their ticket to the postseason.
The Niners went into Sunday's clash at SoFi Stadium knowing a victory would clinch a place in the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. A loss would have allowed the New Orleans Saints, who cruised past the Atlanta Falcons, to sneak in at their expense.
Quarterback Garoppolo, playing with a torn ligament in his left thumb, struggled early and the Niners fell into a 17-0 hole, a Robbie Gould field goal all San Francisco could muster before half-time.
But Deebo Samuel ran for a touchdown and then threw one to Jauan Jennings on a trick play to tie things up, with the same receiver on the end of a pass from Garoppolo to force overtime after Jalen Ramsey's endzone interception followed by Matthew Stafford's touchdown strike to Cooper Kupp had put the Rams back on top 24-17.
The 49ers won the coin toss and Garoppolo led a 12-play drive that ended in a Robbie Gould field goal to give them their first lead of the game, one they clung on to as rookie Ambry Thomas intercepted a Stafford deep shot intended for Odell Beckham Jr. to give San Francisco a sixth successive win over the Rams, securing a Wild Card matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.
Garoppolo was limited in practice throughout the week after missing the 23-7 win over the Houston Texans in Week 17, but felt his hand improved over the course of an instant classic.
Asked about his thumb, Garoppolo told a media conference: "It feels great right now, after a win of course. It got better as it went I would say.
"Obviously with injuries like that your body's just learning and adapting the whole time. Early on it was pretty numb so it felt alright and then just got better and better as it went and I think my arm just kind of learned how to adapt to it.
"[There were] a lot of emotions, throughout the whole game, getting off to a slow start and just coming back like we did.
"It took everything, we say that a lot of weeks but this one really did. I felt it after the game I know a lot of guys in that locker room did, it was one of those games that you won't forget anytime soon."
Shanahan, who said Garoppolo's strong week of practice made it an easy decision to start him over rookie Trey Lance, echoed his quarterback's sentiments.
"Our guys are real resilient, I've been very proud of them," Shanahan said.
"I'm just glad we get to go into the tournament and be a part of it because regardless of what happened today I was going to be very proud of those guys.
"Our goal every year is to get into the tournament so you've got a chance at the ultimate one. I think it's real hard when you have a season where you lose four in a row [as the Niners did Weeks 3-7].
"Most places when you lose four in a row it's tough to keep guys together. The character in our building and the players and everyone around it makes easy, you can just focus on your job and keep fighting and that's what our guys have done all year, they've just kept fighting, not worried about it anything else, in the meantime I think we've gotten better each time doing that and we've been able to overcome some injuries too."
'I think so' - Rodgers expecting to play in 2025 despite poor Jets start
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers thinks he will still be playing in 2025, despite suffering one of the worst starts to a season in his career.
The Jets are currently 3-7 and sit just above the New England Patriots in the AFC East, having lost 31-6 to the Arizona Cardinals in their last game.
Rodgers, who is still coming back from Achilles surgery after missing last season through injury, has thrown just 15 touchdown passes, seven interceptions, and a career-low 6.4 yards per attempt so far.
Rodgers is under contract with New York for 2025, but there are parts of his deal yet to be finalised if he does stay on.
Despite the less-than-stellar start to the season, the 40-year-old says it has not changed his feelings "negatively" as he has not reached his standard yet.
"I think so, yeah," he said when asked if he could see himself playing next year.
"I'm not playing as well as I would've liked to play, for sure. The beauty in this game is it's a team game.
"The frustrating part is that if you're a great competitor, you hold yourself to a standard that's not unrealistic, and I haven't reached that standard this year."
Since firing Robert Saleh last month, the Jets are 1-4 under interim coach Jeff Ulbrich, who also doubles as their defensive coordinator.
They face another team with a losing record in the Indianapolis Colts (4-6) on Sunday, and Rodgers only had positive things to say about Ulbrich.
"The verdict is still not out on this season yet," Rodgers added. "I feel like he's [Ulbrich] done some really good things.
"I think Brick is an NFL head coach, whether it's here moving forward or down the line. I mean, he's a leader of men, and I'll stand by him. I'd love to play for him until the end. So have a lot of love and respect for him."
Indianapolis Colts turning back to QB Richardson
The Indianapolis Colts are reversing course once again in their search for stability at the quarterback position, as head coach Shane Steichen announced Wednesday that Anthony Richardson has regained the starting job for the remainder of the season.
Steichen said Richardson will be under center for Sunday's key game against the New York Jets. The 2023 No. 4 overall pick was benched in favour of veteran Joe Flacco for the team's two previous contests, losses to the Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills.
"He will start this week," Steichen said of Richardson. "He will start the rest of the season, and we're going to go from there."
Richardson was removed from the starting role after noticeably struggling in Indianapolis' 23-20 loss to the AFC South-rival Houston Texans in Week 8, a game in which he completed just 31.3 per cent of his pass attempts and had two turnovers.
The offence has failed to receive a spark from Flacco, however, as the 39-year-old managed just 179 passing yards in the loss to Minnesota and was intercepted three times in last week's 30-20 defeat to the Bills.
Steichen told reporters on Monday that Flacco would remain the starter, but said he changed his mind after witnessing improvement in Richardson's work habits and focus.
"I've said the process, the process for a long time, and what I mean by that is the attention to detail in everything [Richardson] does," Steichen said Wednesday. "From the classrooms, to the walk-throughs to practice, the weight room, all those little things just got to be at a higher standard. That was discussed with him two weeks ago. Those were the conversations that took place. And over the last two weeks he's made strides in those areas, big-time strides, becoming a pro's pro.
"Is he a finished product? No, he's not, and it's my job to help him get there along with the rest of the coaching staff. But he's a hell of a talent. We never lost faith and belief in him and his abilities, and he's shown strides, he really has."
Richardson's second NFL season has been plagued by inconsistent play. Among all quarterbacks with at least 125 pass attempts in 2024, the 22-year-old ranks last in completion percentage (44.4), interception percentage (5.3) and passer rating (57.2).
Staying healthy has also been an issue for the former University of Florida standout. He missed two games in October with an oblique injury and had his rookie campaign cut short after four starts due to a sprained right shoulder that required surgery.
The Colts enter Sunday's matchup having lost three straight games and are a game back of the Denver Broncos in the race for the AFC's final play-off spot.
Cowboys quarterback Prescott to have season-ending surgery
Dak Prescott won't play again for the Dallas Cowboys this season.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that Prescott will undergo surgery on Wednesday to repair his torn hamstring and is out for the remainder of the season.
"His prognosis is wonderful," Jones said Tuesday on his weekly radio appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. "It just means we're not going to have him for the rest of the year."
Prescott sustained the injury in the Cowboys' 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on November 3, and he sat out this past Sunday's 34-6 home drubbing by the Philadelphia Eagles - Dallas' fourth consecutive defeat.
There was some hope that he wouldn't need surgery and return this season, but he has decided to have the procedure to repair a partial avulsion of the hamstring tendon.
The recovery time for his surgery is at least three months, and the Super Bowl is just under three months away.
With a 3-6 record, Dallas' chances of making the Super Bowl are slim, and it looks like the franchise will miss the play-offs for the first time since 2020 after going 12-5 each of the past three seasons.
The Cowboys' offence also looked completely inept in its first game without Prescott.
Cooper Rush started against the Eagles, but threw for just 45 yards - the fewest by a Cowboys starting quarterback in a game since Matt Cassel had 37 in a 19-16 loss to the New York Jets in 2015.
Trey Lance ended up replacing Rush, and passed for 21 yards, giving Dallas 66 total passing yards - the fewest by the team in a game since having 34 in a 10-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001.
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener after finishing as runner-up in NFL MVP voting in 2023, was off to a slow start to the 2024 season with 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions through eight games.
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