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The San Francisco 49ers mortgaged the future earlier this year for first-round draft pick Trey Lance, a quarterback who will replace the incumbent, Jimmy Garoppolo. That was supposed to happen once the season ended, but, all of a sudden, there’s a problem.

The season hasn’t ended.

Not yet. Not after San Francisco held on to defeat Dallas, 23-17, Sunday and advance to next weekend’s divisional round of the NFC playoffs. The Packers are the conference’s No. 1 seed, are home and have Aaron Rodgers. So, naturally they’re favored.

But so were the Cowboys, and look what happened.

So what if the same scenario plays itself out next weekend? What does that mean for Jimmy G’s future? I ask because the last time they got this far in the playoffs … the last time they met Green Bay in the playoffs … they last time Garoppolo quarterbacked them in the playoffs ... they went all the way to the Super Bowl.

That was 2019 when they were the conference No. 1 seed and hammered the Pack – and Rodgers – 37-20 in the championship game. That team was dominated by an effective running game and the league’s second-ranked defense, which, come to think of it, sounds a lot like the team that just outlasted Dallas.

It was also quarterbacked by Garoppolo, now 34-14 (including the playoffs) with the 49ers while everyone else who quarterbacked coach Kyle Shanahan’s team is 8-28. I know, he’s not Joe Montana or Steve Young. But so what? He doesn’t have to be. All he does is win, and win crucial games – and look no farther than what happened in the dying minutes of last weekend’s overtime defeat of the L.A. Rams, a victory that put San Francisco in the playoffs.

He drove the 49ers 83 yards on five plays in the last minute-and-a-half to force the extra period. Then he drove them another 79 in overtime to win it.

So why would you give up on someone like that? The answer, of course, is durability. Garoppolo doesn’t have much in that department, missing 23 of 48 games from 2018-20. That’s why the club drafted Lance. But Garoppolo missed only two starts this year, fought through a painful thumb injury last week and was the NFL’s third-highest rated passer from Week 9 on.

Now has the 49ers where they never imagined two months ago.

So let me repeat: What happens if they pull another upset and beat Green Bay next weekend? Do they follow through with trading him, as we all pre-suppose? Or do they do what San Diego did in 2004 when it acquired Philip Rivers in the draft to replace Drew Brees. At least that was the idea. Then Brees turned into Drew Brees, and Rivers stayed nailed to the bench for two seasons … or until Brees hurt his shoulder in the 2005 finale and became a free agent.

Garoppolo has said he wants to remain with the 49ers, but the reality is: He probably won’t. However, all that could change next weekend … or, if he and the 49ers prevail, the weekend after that. It’s up to Jimmy G. and his teammates.

I said last weekend, they’re the wildcard nobody wants to face. Dallas just discovered why.

SUNDAY SCHOOL: FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED

1. The mystique is gone from New England. From 2001-19, Buffalo was 3-32 vs. New England and Tom Brady. The past two years, the Bills are 4-1 vs. the Patriots without Tom Brady. They never won a division title when Brady was in Foxboro. They’ve won two the past two seasons. Draw your own conclusions. I already have: The mystique moved to Tampa.

2. The refs didn’t beat Dallas. The Cowboys did. A smart man once said, “Stupid is as stupid does,” and the Cowboys are proof. They tied a franchise playoff record with 14 penalties, including six pre-snap flags, and that’s the surest route to failure. The 49ers tried to lose this game, but the Cowboys wouldn’t let them … because that’s who they are. They led everybody this season with 127 penalties.

3. Jalen Hurts is not ready for prime time. The Eagles were one of the best comeback stories this year, mostly because they led the league in rushing and rushing TDs. But what happens when opponents stonewall that run game? You just saw what. Hurts can’t carry the club, continually missing open targets and throwing a fatal end-zone interception at the end of the first half. “Those throws,” said FOX’s Troy Aikman, a Hall-of-Fame quarterback, “should be simple completions. They just haven’t been.”

4. Nobody should want to play Buffalo. The Bills didn’t punt vs. New England Saturday. They didn’t punt on Dec. 26 vs. the Patriots, either. That’s 18 possessions with 11 touchdowns, two field goal, 57 first downs and no punts versus. … Bill Belichick. Consider that a warning.

5. Surprise! There was a home advantage in Wildcard Weekend. There really hadn’t been one until now, and you can look it up: The past three years, home teams were 4-10 in the wildcard round; over the last four, 6-12. Then the NFL made it Super Wildcard Weekend, and home teams responded – winning three of four this weekend, with Dallas the only home loser.

THIRD AND 15

1. After what owner Jerry Jones said last week, coach Mike McCarthy should be nervous. More to the point, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s fired. Here’s why: When asked if there’s a boom-or-bust mentality to his team, Jones said, “Oh, absolutely” because “there’s no in-between.” This was supposed to be the boom year. Instead the Cowboys’ season is kaput, and it’s hard not to finger the head coach when your team leads the league in penalties and ties a franchise record with 14 in the season finale – including a dumb, dumb, dumb holding call vs. Randy Gregory in the last minute-and-a-half that, basically, signaled the end.

2. Memo to Raiders’ owner Mark Davis: Spare everyone the trouble and hire Rich Bisaccia tomorrow. “We all think he’s the right guy,” said quarterback Derek Carr. That’s because he is.

3. Bad news for everyone outside the 813 area code: Looks like the Tampa Bay defense is back. You saw what happened last year when it was healthy for the playoffs. The Bucs never lost. Sure looked like déjà vu all over again vs. Philadelphia.

4. Aikman said he was hoping to see “more” of the Eagles’ Devanta Smith Sunday. Join the crowd. Smith had two targets and one catch for 6 yards in the first half.

5. Good week to celebrate the Cincinnati Bengals. They waited 31 years to win a playoff game and 23 years to have a Hall-of-Fame finalist. Then they beat the Raiders, and Willie Anderson became a Hall finalist, with the vote Tuesday. Who dey? Patient people, that’s who.

6. Youth isn’t served vs. Tom Brady in January. Quarterbacks 25 and younger are 2-12 vs. TB12 in the playoffs, with the 23-year-old Hurts the latest victim. Only Mark Sanchez and Joe Flacco bucked the trend.

7. The 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan may be innovative, but he’s his own worst enemy, too. He blew a 28-3 lead in Super Bowl LI as offensive coordinator of Atlanta. Then he blew a 20-10 fourth-quarter advantage in Super Bowl LIV as head coach of the 49ers. You’d think he’d learn, but, no, he almost blew a 23-7 fourth-quarter lead Sunday, throwing when a steady diet of runs (heard that before?) would’ve done the trick.

8. The happiest team in the playoffs? Easy, it’s the winner of Monday’s Arizona-Rams game. Reason: It won't go to Green Bay in January. Instead, it moves on to Tampa.

9. Separated at birth: Joe Burrow and McCauley Culkin.

10. Maybe Jerry Jones should’ve built his $1.3-billion stadium north to south instead of east to west. Just a hunch, but Cowboys’ wide receiver Cedrick Wilson would second that.

11. Now the good news, Eagles’ fans: You’re team has three of the first 19 picks in this year’s draft (15, 16 and 19).

12. Attention, Tracy Wolfson: Nick Bosa plays for the 49ers; Joey plays for the Chargers.

13. Keep your eyes on this week’s injury reports: The 49ers’ Bosa (Nick!) and Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson both suffered concussions this weekend. Not sure what happens next, but I am sure they’re vital to their teams’ chances.

14. You don’t hear much about the 49ers’ Robbie Gould, but you should. He’s hit all 18 of his field- goal attempts in the playoffs, including three Sunday.

15. The last time Belichick won a playoff game without Tom Brady? It was 1994 when he coached in Cleveland. The last time Brady won a playoff game without Bill Belichick? Sunday. Just sayin.’

STAT THAT MAY ONLY INTEREST ME

Including the playoffs, 12 of Mike Evans’ 15 touchdown catches this season have been home.

ONE THAT MAY INTEREST YOU

Tom Brady won 17 of his last 20 playoff games, is 5-0 with the Bucs and is part of an offense that scored 30 or more in all five playoff wins. Want more? Try this: His 35 career playoff victories are better than every franchise except New England (37) and Pittsburgh (36).

AND ONE FOR BOTH OF US

Dallas has gone 11 straight playoff appearances without reaching a conference championship game – including seven one-and-dones. It’s the longest drought since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

SUNDAY’S GOLD JACKET QUOTES

“Lot of guys toughed it out today, but, in the end, no one really cares. It only gets tougher from here.” --Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady.

“We got some dogs on our defense. Man, it’s fun.” – San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

“Thought I would get to tell my future grandkids about Tom Brady one day. At this rate, they may get to go to one of his games.” – Former quarterback Matt Cassel on Twitter.

“Once Tom figures you out, man, you’re in trouble.” –- Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians.

“It’s only failure if you don’t learn from it.” – Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts.

SUNDAY’S GOLD JACKET RECIPIENT

TOM BRADY, QB, Tampa Bay. You have a better idea? No, he wasn’t the weekend’s best player. Buffalo’s Josh Allen was. But he did what he always does, which is win another playoff game and give people across the country reason to believe that we’re going to see him in February again. I don’t know that happens. In fact, history says it probably won’t. But who was the last team to repeat as a Super Bowl champion? Right. The 2004 New England Patriots. And who was their quarterback? Uh-huh, TB12. He’s done it before. He could do it again. All I know is he’s won more than twice as many playoff games (35) as anyone (Joe Montana is second with 16), nearly twice as many Super Bowls (7-4) and beaten 28 different quarterbacks in the playoffs, where Montana is second with 15. Eagles' defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon was right last week when he called Brady "a trained killer." Appreciate the guy while you can, America. He’s 44, and he won’t be doing this forever … we think. 

This article first appeared on FanNation Talk Of Fame Network and was syndicated with permission.

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