Jimmy Garoppolo was standing on the sideline completing his duties as the 49ers' backup quarterback when Trey Lance went down with a season-ending injury in Week 2.
What crossed Garoppolo's mind?
"I thought he got a concussion at first," Garoppolo said on "The TK Show" podcast to The Athletic's Tim Kawakami. "I thought it would be a couple of plays, and then actually [49ers reconditioning director] Ryan Donahue was next to me and he goes, 'I think he dislocated his ankle.'
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"That’s when it really hit me, OK, this will be more than a couple plays. That’s a weird situation. I’ve never been in that situation. I’ve been a backup for Tom [Brady]; Tom never got hurt. So, I never had to do that."
Lance went down late in the first quarter of the 49ers' 27-7 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 18. Garoppolo stepped in and completed his first pass attempt to Brandon Aiyuk for a four-yard gain.
"It happens so fast," Garoppolo said. "And all of a sudden you’re out there, it’s third down. Thankfully, I hit on the first play and it woke me up a bit. Then after that, it’s just playing football."
He finished that game throwing for 154 yards and one touchdown on 13-of-21 passing.
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Through three contests -- and two full games as the 49ers' starter -- Garoppolo has thrown for 604 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He is coming off his best performance yet -- 239 yards and a 100.7 passer rating in the 49ers' win over the Los Angeles Rams on Monday.
Garoppolo gets another chance to get the 49ers' offense rolling at 1:05 p.m. PT Sunday when the 49ers pay a visit to Baker Mayfield and the Carolina Panthers.
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