Could this be quarterback Jimmy Garappolo final stay with the San Francisco 49ers

For three years, Jimmy Garappolo was the back up quarterback for the New England Patriots, and he proved to be capable filling in for Tom Brady, who was ‘only’ 41″ at the time.

But when the San Francisco 49ers were in need of a quarterback who could pave the way for them, they were apparently impressed by the Eastern Illinois graduate who held the school’s record for passing completions and touchdowns. He was a fourth round pick, 32nd overall, by New England.

And so they arranged a trade in 2014. It was against Patriots’s head coach Bill Bellichick’s wishes, but it became a done deal as Garappolo settles into his final contract year with the Bay City franchise.

Now his future with San Francisco remains a mystery after he brought back-to-back surprises on the road for the 6th-seeded Niners over the 3rd-seeded Dallas Cowboys and the NFC’s top-seeded Green Bay Packers.

Now it’s the 31-year-old Garappolo hoping on a short flight down state for Sunday’s conference finals at the 4th-seeded Los Angeles Rams’ SoFi Stadium, also the site of the Feb. 13 Super Bowl.

He appears confident against the state rivals, but the 49ers and their supporters and handful of bone-headed plays explains why San Francisco felt the need to draft an eventual replacement by trading three first-round draft picks to choose quarterback Trey Lance as the fourth selection.

That’s why Garapollo, with all his strengths and flaws, will be under center when the 49ers visit the Rams Sunday for the conference championship. He must respond with big passes under pressure, leadership, and respect from his teammates as the franchise hopes his hefty contract on board will also put him in high gear in what is his first playoff tilt.

“We’re able to maintain trust in him because we keep winning,” said Niners’ linebacker Fred Warner Thursday. “Listen Jimmy is playing great football, and this is when it counts most.

“It’s a team game, it’s not just all heavily dependent upon that if Jimmy does well, we’re going to win. He does exactly what we need him to do and he comes into work every single day and is the exact same person.”

San Fran coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense is efficient under Garoppolo, leading the NFL in yards per play in the regular season, and ranking second in yards per attempt.

But then there are the ill-timed mistakes such as the interception that fueled a

fourth-quarter comeback by Dallas in the wild card round, and another that thwarted one of the 49ers few scoring opportunities in last week’s classic win at freezing Green Bay and its tundra-turf.

But they won both times.

“That’s a fine line when you have someone who is as talented a thrower as  Jimmy,” said Shanahan. “He doesn’t feel the same way always in the heat of the battle, that he can’t make that throw. Now, when you watch it on tape and stuff, then he’ll see it.”

It looks here like the good outweighs the bad, that he completed two passes for 26 yards on the game-winning field goal drive against the Pack where veteran kicker Robbie Gould booted the 45-yard winner as time expired.

Also, knock him as you may, but San Francisco has won 70 percent of its starts that include four out of five in the post-season, but his production is is often underwhelming. His 146 yards passing per game in the postseason ranks 80th out of 87 quarterbacks with at least five starts in the Super Bowl that includes five interceptions and a pair of TD passes.

He plays this biggest game of all with a pained shoulder and injured elbow, but he hardly mentions him, just looking ahead, he said, to perhaps playing the next two games down in LA.

“I realize,” he said, “that this could be the reality that every game now could be my final one with the 49ers. But I’m able to tune that out the same way that I simply ignore the criticism that comes my way from pundits and social media.”

Win in LA, though, and the good will prevail for Garappolo.

For the Rams, it will be veteran Matthew Stafford calling the signals after his only other NFL stay with the rather hapless Detroit Lions.

That’s that game, the other for the AFC title features young and talented 24-year-old Patrick Mahomes at the position for the 2nd-seeded Kansas City Chiefs against the visiting 4th-seeded Cincinnati Bengals, who will turn to former Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow to carry them to another surprising win after gaining the playoffs for the first time in 13 years and also carrying off the  North Division championship.

Whereas Sunday is usually the day of rest, it’s the day this time where this doubleheader is the National Football League Final Four that will have hours and hours on the gridiron.

The opener has Cincinnati and Kansas City scheduled to kick off at 1:05 p.m. followed by the 4:40 slated start for San Francisco and Los Angeles.