Bhanpuri: Every week, a 49ers-backing buddy of mine messages me, baffled by where we've ranked his team's QB1, and every week, I have to remind him that the tape don't lie. While Garoppolo put some fine plays on film through the Niners' first seven games, his highs were often canceled out by the lows -- missed throws, awful turnovers and bad decisions. But last Thursday night, Jimmy G was nearly flawless. In prime time, on a short week, against a division opponent, Garoppolo turned in the best game of his career. He was exceptionally accurate -- hitting his receivers in stride or protecting them by placing the ball away from defenders -- and cruelly efficient in pressure situations, going 12 of 14 for 159 yards and three touchdowns on third down. The anticipation he showed on a 22-yard completion to Emmanuel Sanders was out of the Steve Young-to-Jerry Rice catalog -- not something you expected from a QB-WR combo that had been teammates for just nine days. Garoppolo also repeatedly helped the 49ers work through their own mistakes, like on their third TD drive of the first half, when they managed to put seven on the board after overcoming both a holding penalty that negated a rushing score and a wide-open drop in the end zone by Deebo Samuel. Lesser teams don't have the grit or the confidence to weather even a couple of these errors in a game, and yet, San Francisco continues to make the best of bad situations, week in and week out. As good as he was, though, the Niners' QB1 is still stuck on the wrong side of the top 10 for at least another seven days. I should have a fun text coming my way.