The San Francisco 49ers are playoff bound once again after a thrilling overtime victory against the Los Angeles Rams. The 49ers trailed 17-0 late in the second quarter but came away with three points to end the half. With the 49ers dealing with their quarterback situation all season, fans were hollering to see Trey Lance after the Niners laid an egg in that first half. Like head coach Kyle Shanahan has done all season though, he stuck with his guy Jimmy Garoppolo, and he would lead the 49ers to one of their most exciting victories to date.
San Francisco would answer back with a 75-yard scoring drive after halftime, a forded punt on the Rams ensuing possession, and another scoring drive to tie the game at 17. The defense came up huge with two turnovers in the second half, one of them the game sealing interception in overtime by rookie cornerback Ambry Thomas. Kyle Shanahan showed tremendous leadership and poise when his team was down in a must win situation for his ball club and certainly deserves his credit.
Longtime writer Peter King, named Kyle Shanahan as his Coach of the Week in his latest Football Morning in America column for NBC Sports for the second time this season.
"Starting 3-5, knowing his job was shaky if he finished out of the playoffs for a fourth year out of five running the Niners. Having must wins in Week 10 and Week 18 against the division champ Rams and winning both. Gutting out a crazy win at Cincinnati against the suddenly great Joe Burrow. Finish 10-7 in the toughest division in football, living to fight another day in the NFC playoffs. He's not coach of the year, but damn, he's coach of the something." King wrote.
Shanahan has had the pressure on him all season long, after this victory against the Rams he and the 49ers can finally exhale, as they have punched their playoff ticket. The celebration won't last long as they matchup with the Dallas Cowboys in round one of the playoffs, rekindling one of the most storied rivalries in NFL history.