Photo credit: ninerswire.usatoday.com

By Jeremy Harness

OK, so what we’re going to write about here is not very pleasant, but let’s at least have some fun with this one.

We’re going to start off with a little exercise.

Step 1: Grab a partner and a football (or whatever you can find around the house that you can toss), and stand approximately six feet from each other.

Step 2: Toss the chosen object to your partner. Underhand, overhand, sidearm, it doesn’t matter a lick how you do it. Just do whatever you can to ensure that your partner catches it.

Step 3: Congratulate yourselves on a job well done. You have just passed for more yards – and one fewer interception – than Jimmy Garoppolo did on Monday.

Yes, you read that right. The quarterback that the 49ers paid more than $100 million for last offseason completed one of nine passes for zero yards and one interception, and was very fortunate that another pass was not picked off and returned for a touchdown midway through the first quarter.

However, this isn’t all Garoppolo’s fault. The entire starting offense looked inept against a young Denver Broncos defense, with pass protection especially being an issue, particularly the left side with Joe Staley and Laken Tomlinson.

The 49ers beat the Broncos on Monday, 24-15, but it was mostly on the back of the backups who, simply put, are trying to secure a spot on the team and are not expected to see much action when the regular season begins.

Which brings us back to the starting offense. The unit is going to need to show a bit more on Saturday, when it faces the Kansas City Chiefs, which made it to the AFC title game last season despite finishing near the bottom in most defensive categories, particularly against the pass.

Running back Jerick McKinnon, who missed all of 2018 with a torn ACL, did not play Monday and is not expected to practice Wednesday but, according to reports, could return Thursday on a limited basis.