Jimmy Garoppolo was very good last night. But it’s hard to not draw a line between the 49ers quarterback’s best passing performance of the year, and him getting to know a real-life wide receiver.

While he opened last week’s win over the Panthers with a touchdown to Emmanuel Sanders, the two showed a real connection in last night’s win over the Cardinals.

Sanders led the 49ers with seven catches for 112 yards and a touchdown, and has clearly caught on quickly in his new home, after his midseason trade from Denver.

“He’s savvy,” Garoppolo said of Sanders, via Jennifer Lee Chan of NBCSportsBayArea.com. “He knows what to do, feels space when it’s zone and he beats the guy when it’s man. It’s a nice combination. He’s so smart that he just does things, that as a quarterback, you love to see and it makes it easy on you to throw the ball to him.”

As much as the 32-year-old wide receiver has added already, he’s actually exceeded expectations of some there.

“When you’re watching him, you always know he’s a pro,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He’s even been better than expected since he’s been here with how unbelievably smart he’s been in picking up the offense and going out there that much, especially here on a short week. That game would have been real tough without him.”

Garoppolo and Sanders have been spending extra time together on the practice field, but the level of results they’re showing in just two weeks is still amazing, and a good sign for an offense that needed some balance and gravity.