At a Philadelphia podium on January 29, two shadows obscured Kyle Shanahan’s face.
Shanahan’s team-logoed baseball cap cast the physical shadow over the eyes of the San Francisco 49ers head coach. And then there was the psychological shadow, just as visible in his deflated expression, as he processed the shock of quarterback injuries decimating his team’s promising postseason run.
“I just hurt for those guys,” Shanahan said after Brock Purdy’s UCL tear and Josh Johnson’s concussion sent the 49ers to a no-man’s land so extreme that the NFL would soon change its rules to avoid a repeat.