"It's been a crazy whirlwind of a ride."
Monday 20 January 2020 16:51, UK
Jimmy Garoppolo may have two Super Bowl rings to his name, but neither will come close to success in Miami should the San Francisco 49ers overcome the Kansas City Chiefs.
The 49ers quarterback was a two-time champion during his spell as backup to Tom Brady with the New England Patriots and now has the opportunity to win the ultimate prize as a starter for the first time.
Garoppolo made six appearances in his rookie year en route to the Patriots' win over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, before featuring six times, including two starts, on the road to victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
His path to Miami not only entails a high-profile trade to the 49ers, but also a gruelling recovery from an ACL tear that sidelined him for the majority of the 2018 season.
"It's been a crazy whirlwind of a ride and there's nobody else I'd rather be in a dog fight with than those guys in the locker room," said Garoppolo, speaking after the 49ers' victory over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game.
"It's a great group to be with, everyone' pulling together, everyone's tight with one another and it's just a great group, it really is."
While Garoppolo is yet to take a snap in a Super Bowl, he is well accustomed to the drastic switch in atmosphere and the unique environment that will be new to some of the less experienced players as they build up to the game.
He added: "The first week is where you've really got to take advantage of it, because once you get down there to Miami it's a crazy week. You've got to take advantage of this first week and get ahead of the other team."
Garoppolo was quiet in Sunday's victory over the Packers, attempting just eight passes and throwing for just 77 yards as Mostert stole the show with 220 rushing yards for four touchdowns.
In contrast, Garoppolo went 14 of 20 for 253 yards and two touchdowns when the 49ers carved open the Packers defense in a 37-8 victory back in November, during which Mostert ran for just 45 yards and one score.
"We were running the hell out of the ball tonight, it made my life very easy back there," continued Garoppolo.
"You kind of have a feeling of it, with this defense it's kind of a feast or famine defense. We got a couple of big plays the first time we played them and we thought we'd have those opportunities but they wanted to take those away and open up the running lane so it's kind of picking your poison type of thing.
"It's a long season so people always get banged up but when you can play good defense, run the football like that and just be efficient on third down it makes you tough to beat at this time of year so it's a good combo for success."
For 90 minutes of Super Bowl LIV build-up from Hard Rock Stadium with Rob Ryan and Josh Norman, join us on Sky Sports Action, Main Event and Mix from 10pm on Sunday, February 2.
