I think I became a big Garrett Gilbert fan tonight. Watching that poor guy have to come in with all the pressure in the world on his shoulders was really tough to watch. His offensive teammates shut down around him when they needed to rise to the challenge most- watching pass after pass bounce off or go through Malcolm Williams hands was pathetic. Then tack on the INT that went for a TD at the end of half when the running back juggled the ball twice before it was finally snatched away, Gilbert just got no help early on. That's not to say he wasn't really off on alot of stuff- Gilbert's deep throws down the sidelines that were consistently overthrown by about 10 yards were unclutch but unsurprising given the adrenaline he was surely feeling.
Come fourth quarter he stepped up and finally got on the same page with Shipley and displayed some tremendous arm strength and accuracy on quite a few of his throws. His perfectly placed bullet on the two point conversion was a veteran toss and really impressed me.
In the end, I think he can walk out with his head held high. He didn't have good numbers but he had his team in a position to tie or win the game and the fumble at the end wasn't his fault at all. I look forward to watching him in the upcoming years, hopefully he's able to redeem himself with a title someday.
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