Kyle Shanahan pulled out all the tricks when the 49ers upset the Eagles to advance to the Divisional Round. He won't be the Coach of the Year, but it's hard to imagine anyone doing what he's done.
It really can't be said enough what a masterclass of coaching it was on both sides of the ball when the time ran out and the San Francisco 49ers had stunned a rowdy Philadelphia Eagles fanbase. The Niners ran out 23-19 winners, but it was one particular play that broke open San Francisco's offense and got them moving.
Losing star tight end George Kittle in addition to the myriad of injuries already suffered on both sides of the ball saw the 49ers seemingly consigned to the scrapheap when the Eagles got ahead in the game.
How could the offense move down the field, especially when quarterback Brock Purdy threw two interceptions and Christian McCaffrey couldn't break any big gains on the ground?
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Some inefficient Eagles play on offense helped, with the turnovers not punishing San Francisco at all. This allowed head coach Kyle Shanahan to adjust to losing Kittle, and Purdy to recover from the interceptions, and start to chip away at the Eagles defense.
What seemed to be a tall order suddenly became a reality, when Shanahan dusted off an old classic from the playbook against a team that's been known to pull out a trick play or two in the playoffs:
Oh my!! The #49ers go with the trickery — and it’s Jauan Jennings throwing to Christian McCaffrey for the TD. pic.twitter.com/xPuiQ6Ji9A
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 12, 2026
Jauan Jennings, who used to be a high school quarterback, threw a perfect pass in the blustering Philadelphia winds to McCaffrey who fell into the end zone which put the 49ers in front 17-16. It might have been a trick play, but it also felt like a dam had burst.
It was a piece of inspiration from Shanahan, who's used this play before in the playoffs. It was one of the latest examples of Shanahan using everything possible at his disposal to help compensate from a staggering amount of starpower being lost due to injury (or indifference, in the case of a certain wide receiver).
Despite this, the betting odds suggest Shanahan is but a mere afterthought to be Coach of the Year. He's been passed over at least twice when he should have at least been well in the discussion to win it, and now it probably will be third time unlucky for Shanahan.
But whether he gets the award or not, he's been coaching at an incredible level this season and has the 49ers essentially playing with house money for the remainder of the playoffs.