Two years ago, I got in on the first iteration of Jimmy G fever and watched Jimmy Garappolo and the San Francisco 49ers beat the playoff-bound Jacksonville Jaguars in a 44-33 barn-burner, with the side benefit of being able to brag to all fans of The Good Place that I got to see Blake Bortles in person. At the time, I would have laid good money on a wager that the Niners would never score more points in a game while I was in the house. Turns out I was wrong.
On Sunday, the Niners hosted the Carolina Panthers, and though the Niners were the only team in the NFL other than the New England Patriots with an undefeated record, I thought they might have a tough time against the Panthers, who had won four straight and seemed a more legitimate opponent than the bottom-feeders previously on the Niners’ schedule. Instead, I got to see the Niners score 51 points, the most by the team in a game since 1993, and totally obliterate the Panthers on both sides of the ball. It was no accident. As wonderful as it was to see Jimmy G back from last year’s knee injury, his return has been only a small part of the Niners’ resurgence. They run the ball even better than they throw it, with two of their six rushing touchdowns on Sunday going for over 40 yards, and their defense, led by rookie Nick Bosa, terrorizes quarterbacks and has given up the fewest points per game in the NFL with the exception of the Patriots, who have enjoyed the benefit of playing a schedule of offensively-challenged teams like the Jets, Bills and Dolphins. With apologies to Jim Harbaugh, I have not seen a team like this in San Francisco since Bill Walsh was busy filling his office with Lombardi Trophies, and they may not even be at their peak yet, with several of their best players like offensive tackle Joe Staley and fullback Kyle Juszczyk expected to return from injury in the coming weeks.
As befits the Niners’ record, it’s not cheap to attend a game at Levi’s Stadium nowadays. Our end-zone seats thirty rows up were $200 apiece, and even at such prices tickets are much scarcer than they used to be. Nevertheless, if you can find a way to get yourself into the house this season, you won’t regret it. You might well be seeing history in the making.
