At one point during Sunday’s FOX broadcast of the 49ers-Rams NFC Championship at SoFi Stadium, cameras spotlighted A-list Hollywood stars in attendance like Leonardo DiCaprio. But the night’s best actor might have been Fake Kyle Shanahan.
From the long-sleeve shirt to the hat, the beard, the headset and angry gesticulations, this dude had the 49ers coach down pat.
Shanahan caught heat Sunday as he was associated with the third high-profile comeback loss of his career. Shanahan was the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator in Super Bowl 51 when the New England Patriots’ won after trailing 28-3 in the third quarter. In Super Bowl 54, the 49ers coughed up a 10-point lead to the Kansas City Chiefs.
On Sunday, the 49ers led by 10 in the fourth quarter but lost 20-17 after two miserable drives to end the game. San Francisco got whistled for a delay of game penalty on the second-to-last drive, before Brandon Aiyuk was late getting to the line and the 49ers barely got set for a crucial 3rd-and-15. Garoppolo went 1-for-6 for negative-3 yards and an interception on the final two series.
“The one where we didn’t get the snap off, [center] Alex [Mack] couldn’t hear,” Shanahan said. “There was something, he ended up making a signal and when he made a signal, he didn’t know how much time was on the clock. Another one, we had a messed-up substitution. We subbed right, but the guy ended up going to the wrong side. We had guys on the wrong side and that’s what ended up happening.”
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Late calls to the huddle. Issues with communication. Guys messing up the formation. No first downs. The pedigreed prodigy known for his play-calling didn’t shine under pressure Sunday. His decision to run the play clock out on 4th-and-2 in a tie game at the Rams 45-yard line before punting with 10:01 left was also widely questioned.
Some fans took the opportunity to roast Real Kyle Shanahan after the game.
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