The San Francisco 49ers are defying a persistent injury plague and rushing from victory to victory. Head Coach Kyle Shanahan is outclassing the competition and is on track for Coach of the Year – a commentary.

The San Francisco 49ers are on fire.

Head Coach Kyle Shanahan’s team won Thursday Night Game in Week 5 against the Los Angeles Rams in an absolute heart-stopping finale in overtime.

This puts the Niners at 4-1. This is a strong performance that seems even more remarkable when you consider that the team has been struggling with acute injury problems since the start of the season and the offense has been running on empty since early in the season. How mastermind Shanahan has not let the numerous setbacks irritate him and has reinvented the team week after week deserves the utmost respect.

San Francisco 49ers: Injury woes unparalleled

Star quarterback Brock Purdy and wide receivers Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings were ruled out at short notice against the Rams. Added to that is tight end George Kittle, who has been on the injured reserve list for weeks. We mustn’t forget wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who is still in rehab after suffering a serious knee injury last season.

This meant that the team lost virtually its entire offensive core in the first few weeks of the season. Only star running back Christian McCaffrey was available. It’s hard to believe that the franchise continues to ride the wave of success despite the never-ending bad news. It is proving more and more to be a great strength that Shanahan’s game plan is not only tailored to the individual abilities of one or two irreplaceable players, but that the second string can also step in without hesitation in an emergency and is ideally integrated.

Against the Rams, it was backup QB Mac Jones who once again played a big game and is flourishing more and more in Shanahan’s system. The former first-round pick of the New England Patriots put in another powerful performance and is 3-0 as the 49ers’ starter.

In three starts in Purdy’s absence, the 27-year-old has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the NFL this season. His 66.7 percent completion rate for 905 passing yards, six touchdowns, and only one interception speak for themselves.

At his side, Kendrick Bourne, also a former “Pats” player, is another strong reserve. Shanahan led both of them to fabulous numbers on Friday night. The receiver set new career highs against the Rams with ten catches for 142 yards. Particularly impressive: eight of those catches led to first downs.

San Francisco 49ers: Coach Shanahan’s mental strength inspires the team

How does Coach Shanahan push his backups and substitutes to such peak performances?

It’s because of his unbreakable fighting spirit and winning mentality, as playmaker Jones made clear after the victory.

The 49ers were considered underdogs by the bookmakers due to their massive personnel problems. This was something that did not sit well with the coaching guru.

“Kyle came to me and was totally pissed about it. He said something like, ‘Man, I can’t believe they made us the underdogs again,’” Jones joked.

This determination also fueled his quarterback: “I said, ‘Yeah, let’s take them down.’ He was pissed about it. I replied, ‘Yeah, I’m pissed too.’”

It’s hard to overstate how Shanahan rallies his severely depleted squad week after week and how the team continues to shine where others would have long since buried their heads in the sand.

Despite setback after setback, San Francisco is consistently moving forward.

If the Niners continue like this, the 45-year-old is almost certain to win the Coach of the Year award.