The San Francisco 49ers and their fan base may have their doubts at times about head coach Kyle Shanahan. But Week 5's Thursday Night Football victory against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium was a great reminder of how he stacks up against even the best minds in the NFL.
Sure, Shanahan hasn't won the big one yet, but he's made it to two Super Bowls with two different quarterbacks. He's also proven time and time again that he can take the most injured team in the league and make the most of them.
He did that again against the team's bitter NFC West foe this week, as he out-coached Sean McVay in every facet of the game en route to a thrilling 26-23 overtime win. Oh, and he did it without roughly half of the team's starters in the lineup.
Christian McCaffrey heaped praise on 49ers' Kyle Shanahan after Week 5 thriller
Christian McCaffrey, perhaps the team's most important starter, at least on offense anyway, was able to suit up for the 49ers. And boy did he have a game. The veteran running back was the focal point of Shanahan's attack, but also of McVay's attention, and dominated anyway.
After the game, being the selfless superstar that he is, McCaffrey threw a major compliment Shanahan's way.
"I don't think he gets enough credit either," McCaffrey said of his head coach. "I know how smart he is. I know how unbelievable of a coach he is. He's our team leader, and we get behind him. We go out there and fight for him every day of the week."
There was never any doubting that, schematically, Shanahan was a wizard. But in terms of leadership and the team being motivated to play for him, if there was ever a doubt about that, McCaffrey silenced it with this line.
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As thankful as McCaffrey is for his head coach, Shanahan is probably more grateful for him. McCaffrey toted the ball 22 times for just 57 yards on Thursday, but he grinded out every inch. He also caught eight passes for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Backup quarterback Mac Jones was able to spread the ball around a bit to players like Jake Tonges, who caught seven passes for 41 yards and a touchdown, and Kendrick Bourne, who had a marquee game with 10 catches for 142 yards.
But McCaffrey's gravity on the field helped open up the offense for everyone else, just as Shanahan planned. The mutual respect between these two is obvious to see on the field, and it was expressed verbally after this incredible win by the star running back.