Nick Wagoner
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After one other bodily, grind-it-out win towards the Los Angeles Rams final week, San Francisco 49ers operating again Christian McCaffrey stood at a lectern with an enormous grin on his face.
For a fifth straight week, the Niners' run sport had struggled to get going and once more didn't put up a speeding landing. McCaffrey's smile was rooted in a single eye-opening statistic: The 2025 Niners are the second group prior to now 90 years to not rating a speeding landing within the opening 5 weeks and nonetheless begin 4-1 or higher.
“The win is crucial factor and we do not care how now we have it,” McCaffrey stated. “I believe everyone and their mom needs the run sport to get going a bit of bit extra — myself included — however we have simply acquired to maintain chipping away and preserve working at it and get guys again and simply preserve pushing and staying with it.”
By means of the primary 5 weeks, McCaffrey is twenty third within the NFL in speeding yards per sport (56.4), fortieth in yards per carry (3.1), thirty sixth in yards earlier than contact per rush (1.52) and thirty third in yards after contact per rush (1.58). Solely 5.5% of his 91 rushes have gone for 10-plus yards, which ranks 113th within the league.
Questions concerning the lack of manufacturing on the bottom have grown louder by the week with blame being pointed in each course. Whereas there are a number of causes for the Niners' floor sport struggles, the best clarification is perhaps one of the best one: On a group that has been lacking most of its greatest and most achieved ability place gamers, McCaffrey is the apparent goal for opposing defensive coordinators.
The Niners, with out tight finish George Kittle (hamstring), receivers Brandon Aiyuk (knee), Jauan Jennings (ribs, ankle, shoulder) and Ricky Pearsall (knee) for all or elements of the season, are extra McCaffrey-centric than ever.
By means of the primary 5 weeks, McCaffrey is getting 47.6% of San Francisco's offensive touches, a price that will be the very best within the league for any participant since 2022 and is almost 5% greater than his earlier excessive in 2023 (42.9%).
However whereas defenses have targeted their sport plans on slowing McCaffrey on the bottom and dared the likes of tight ends Jake Tonges and Luke Farrell or receivers Kendrick Bourne, Demarcus Robinson and Marquez Valdes-Scantling to beat them, McCaffrey has nonetheless discovered a solution to be one of many league's most constant offensive threats.
McCaffrey, whom coach Kyle Shanahan calls one of the best receiver at operating again he is ever seen, ranks first amongst all gamers in yards from scrimmage (669) and touches (130) and has hit triple digits in scrimmage yards in every of the primary 5 video games.
Put merely: McCaffrey is getting the heaviest workload within the NFL and nonetheless serving to the Niners win regardless of opposing defenses doing every thing they'll to take him away. And he is doing it after Achilles and knee accidents restricted him to 4 video games in 2024.
“He is one of many hardest, grittiest guys I've ever been round — how he approaches day by day, how bodily he's,” Shanahan stated. “Christian has been unbelievable. He is been operating into some actually powerful seems however he does not shrink back from something.”
McCaffrey is fast to level out that it is common to have stretches the place speeding manufacturing does not come straightforward. McCaffrey even started his 49ers profession with even much less success than he is had thus far this season.
After arriving halfway by means of 2022, McCaffrey averaged 53.8 speeding yards per sport and 4.0 yards per carry in his first 5 full video games with the Niners. He offset that with 51.6 receiving yards per sport.
With defensive sport plans centered on him in 2025, McCaffrey is seventh amongst all gamers in receiving yards per sport (77.4) and yards after catch (278), and third in receptions (39). At his present tempo, McCaffrey would end with 1,316 receiving yards and shatter the NFL report for receiving yards in a season by a operating again (Del Shofner's 1,097 in 1958). He additionally has three receiving touchdowns by means of 5 video games (tied for many by a operating again this season).
“He is the person,” quarterback Mac Jones stated. “He is undoubtedly good at his job and he is all the time on the market on each play it doesn't matter what. He is coping with stuff too, and he is simply in the proper spots and makes performs.”
Whereas McCaffrey has continued to be the focus of the Niners offense throughout their quick begin, the Niners are hoping that reinforcements are on the way in which to assist not solely bolster the run sport however diversify the offense.
Maybe no participant on the roster is healthier suited to do each of these issues than Kittle. Since Kittle arrived as a rookie in 2017, the Niners have averaged 4.8 yards per carry with Kittle on the sphere. With Kittle not on the sphere, that quantity drops to 4 yards per try.
It is a testomony to Kittle's dominance as a run blocker — he's second within the NFL in run block wins since 2017 — and as a go catcher. Each time Kittle is on the sphere, the Niners can align the identical personnel in numerous methods, forcing opposing defenses to honor his versatility.
That is very true for the linebackers and safeties who now are free to assault the road of scrimmage and McCaffrey. One second quarter play towards Arizona supplied some perception into how defenses are targeted on McCaffrey past merely simply bringing extra defenders nearer to the road of scrimmage.
On a first-and-10 toss play to the proper, the Cardinals took the weird step of sending each inside linebackers to chase McCaffrey by means of the ‘C' hole on the proper aspect. They tackled him for a 5-yard loss.
Though Kittle is not anticipated again till Week 7 on the earliest, he is nearing a return. Getting Aiyuk, Jennings and Pearsall again must also assist open some issues up and guard Ben Bartch is eligible to return from injured reserve after Week 6.
Getting more healthy must also assist lighten McCaffrey's workload as he is at present on tempo for 442 touches, which might be tied for the eighth most in league historical past.
For his half, McCaffrey hasn't shied away from is the drumbeat of questions concerning the operating sport and whether or not he, at 29 and coming off harm, has misplaced a step or two. McCaffrey has repeatedly stated that the Niners are “shut” to a run sport break by means of.
Another block right here or compelled missed sort out there may result in the kind of lengthy acquire that will immediately bolster the meager yards per carry common, McCaffrey says.
In opposition to the Rams final week, McCaffrey compelled 12 missed tackles (seven on rushes, 5 on receptions), his most compelled missed tackles since becoming a member of the Niners. Nonetheless, the Rams compelled McCaffrey to realize all of his speeding yards after contact as he was held to negative-3 yards earlier than contact in that sport.
McCaffrey has additionally acknowledged that he could be higher together with the remainder of his offensive teammates. Within the meantime, these teammates are discovering inspiration in how he finds a solution to affect successful with the deck stacked so closely towards him.
“There have been so many doubts coming into this season about how this man can maintain up after what he is been by means of,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk stated. “I believe the man touches the ball 30, 40 occasions a sport and he is nonetheless standing and he is nonetheless doing his factor.”
