SANTA CLARA, Calif. _ Warranted or not, there were plenty of questions surrounding Jimmy Garoppolo during the first half of the season.
Is he good enough to win a Super Bowl? Is he worth his $137.5 million contract? Can he continue the 49ers' tradition of elite quarterback play that's been in flux since Steve Young retired in 1999?
There's plenty of season left, including the playoffs, and Garoppolo will need to string together multiple campaigns like this one _ and perhaps win a Super Bowl _ before the skeptics disappear.
But the volume of those questions is lowering as the season goes on and Garoppolo continues to win for the NFC's top team. Sunday's epic win in New Orleans paired with the Seahawks loss in L.A. gave San Francisco the best record in the conference at 11-2.
Garoppolo on Wednesday was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his clutch performance against the Saints, when he threw for 349 yards and four touchdown passes en route to the last-minute comeback. It continued a strong run as Garoppolo goes through his first full season as a starter since missing nearly all of 2018 with a torn ACL.
Garoppolo, undoubtedly, has been playing like an elite quarterback.
