After slow start, Garoppolo shows he's still game

FOXBOROUGH — Everybody can calm down now. Jimmy Garoppolo can still play quarterback in the NFL.

Well, at least against backups from the Jaguars. In the preseason. Baby steps.

After struggling through much of training camp, Garoppolo reminded everyone that he’s still a decent quarterback by completing 22 of 28 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns for a passer rating of 125.4 in about two-and-a-half quarters of action in the Patriots’ 31-24 loss to the Jaguars on Thursday night.

“I go out the same way every day, since I’ve gotten here, since I’ve started playing football,” Garoppolo said about his practice struggles. “I love doing this. I love getting out there with the guys. I wish we would have pulled out the ‘W’ tonight, but I think there was a lot of good things, some things to improve on, and we’ll work on those going forward.”

It didn’t start out great. Garoppolo and the Patriots put up just three points in their first four possessions, which also included two three-and-outs. But with the Patriots trailing 17-3 with the ball at their own 24 with 1:52 left in the first half, that’s when the Garoppolo from his two regular-season starts last season kicked in.

Garoppolo was a perfect 7 for 7 for 53 yards on the two-minute drive, capped with the kind of throw the coaches will get on him about in the film room — rolling left and then throwing back to the right across his body – but privately loving: a daring, boom-or-bust throw that was completed for a touchdown when Austin Carr made a terrific, twisting highpoint catch and took a hit as well.

“He’s a great leader and I think that really showed in the second quarter, especially,” Carr, an undrafted rookie, said. “A great communicator on the field and very composed. I think it showed on the offense.”

After finishing the first half 16 of 21 for 133 yards and a touchdown, most figured Garoppolo’s night would be over. But Bill Belichick had other plans as he sent his backup for two more drives in the third quarter.

“Coach always has us guessing,” Garoppolo said. “You don’t know if you’re going to play a little or a lot. When he put me in, I was happy to get back out there with the guys. That’s nice. You don’t get to simulate halftime in practice, so getting that live rep like that, it’s very beneficial.”

Garoppolo was 6 of 7 for 102 yards and another touchdown in the second half, his lone incompletion coming on his penultimate throw before a D.J. Foster fumble ended another potential scoring drive. At one point he completed 13-straight passes.

“Yeah, definitely a slow start, not the way we wanted it to go at all, but I think (we) just came together, made a couple of adjustments and everything and we went out there and executed,” Garoppolo said.

One of the plays that stood out was Garoppolo, while getting flushed from the pocket to the right, delivered a strike to Carr for a first touchdown. It was very similar to the play that he was injured on against the Dolphins last season. Only this time, Garoppolo went to the turf on his own, and not under the force of a defender.

“As I popped up from it, we completed it and I actually thought about that,” Garoppolo admitted. “So, yeah, just kind of a confidence boost, but just making sure the shoulder’s all good. It felt good tonight.”