In much anticipated Bay Area return, Garcia impressive in
limited playing time
There is a time and a place for everything. Unfortunately for Jeff Garcia fans, a Week 16 game between the San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wasn’t the ideal date for a homecoming.
This isn’t a knock on Garcia, the Bucs, or even the out-of-contention 49ers, who ended up winning Sunday’s contest 21-19.
With a 9-5 record entering the game, Garcia and company had already locked up the NFC South division and a slot in the playoffs. There was no need to risk losing the one player the injury-plagued Bucs can’t afford to lose going into the postseason.
Garcia played just short of a half, but during his return to San Francisco – the team he earned three Pro Bowls appearances with in five years of work – he showed what Niners’ fans have been longing for since he was unceremoniously cut by the team: Consistent quarterback play.
It’s a move the 49ers should still be regretting.
The Shaun Hill bandwagon picked up a few more passengers with the close victory, but the circumstances couldn’t have been better for the former third-stringer.
With Garcia and many other Tampa Bay starters out of the game in the second half, the 49ers had two nice but unspectacular drives on offense and held the second-string visitors to six points, which were scored on a late touchdown catch by Jerramy Stevens from Luke McCown with 1:20 remaining in the game.
The Bucs failed a two-point conversion and ensuing onside kick, locking up the win for San Francisco.
Had Garcia been in the game, though, it’s quite likely the 37-year-old Gilroy native would have been brilliant for the Bucs, and given his team a win if playing four quarters of football.
A 24-yard touchdown pass to Stevens from Garcia – a floater to the right corner of the end zone that had the type of accuracy needed to fit a ball through a tire swing – was the veteran quarterback’s final play of the game, leaving his team ahead 13-7 with 3:49 remaining in the second quarter.
Garcia passed for 196 yards and one touchdown, completing 12-of-20 passes. He showed poise in the pocket, he showed accuracy with each toss, and he even showed his trademark toughness and ingenuity by flipping the ball to a receiver while being dragged to the ground by two defenders in the first quarter.
Under the circumstances – Sunday’s game was miniscule compared to the big
