SANTA CLARA, Calif. — In some methods, Christian McCaffrey’s return to the San Francisco 49ers’ lineup Sunday was nothing new.
Via his first seven NFL seasons, McCaffrey has seen and achieved practically all the things a participant can expertise, together with return from vital accidents. But, within the moments earlier than his staff’s eventual 23-20 win towards the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, McCaffrey discovered himself stopping, respiratory and feeling each step of the highway again from bilateral Achilles tendinitis.
“I attempt to really feel feelings as they arrive,” McCaffrey stated. “I attempt to keep even-keeled, and clearly there’s a variety of emotion whenever you play an NFL soccer recreation… No one desires to be on the sphere greater than me. Simply to be on the market once more, to be trustworthy with you, you actually understand how a lot of a privilege it’s to play soccer.”
After an eight-game, nine-week delay, McCaffrey made his 2024 debut towards the Buccaneers and, regardless of an preliminary plan to ease McCaffrey again in a bit extra, his function seemed awfully much like the one he had in 2023 when he received the NFL’s Offensive Participant of the Yr award.
McCaffrey was on the sphere for 57 performs, a whopping 88% of the staff’s offensive snaps and 6 greater than he averaged final season. McCaffrey managed 107 scrimmage yards on 19 touches, a shade beneath the 126.4 and 21 he averaged final season.
Maybe McCaffrey’s sizable quick function needs to be no shock given his significance to the offense in previous seasons and, extra urgent, their hopes of piecing collectively a second-half surge.
“He got here out nice, which was large,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan stated. “We knew it was going to be onerous to load-manage him.”
On the floor, McCaffrey’s return wasn’t fairly the panacea the Niners may need hoped. It did not result in an offensive outburst through which touchdowns have been plentiful. San Francisco struggled as soon as once more within the crimson zone, scoring a landing on simply certainly one of its three journeys inside Tampa’s 20.
Nonetheless, McCaffrey provided a few of his ordinary highlight-reel moments, together with the basket catch he constructed from quarterback Brock Purdy for a 30-yard achieve with the 49ers trailing by 4 within the fourth quarter.
It was the longest reception of the season by a 49ers operating again. McCaffrey’s six receptions for 68 yards practically surpassed backup Jordan Mason’s 10 catches for 86 yards within the first eight video games mixed.
“For defenses, they should scheme that up,” Purdy stated. “They should acknowledge him, which may open up another guys.”
Certainly, merely having McCaffrey again on the sphere helped the 49ers offense start to get again to its roots. Very like different groups which have performed the 49ers this season, the Bucs performed extra man protection than ordinary, dropping from their most well-liked zone protection fee of 75.7% common to 60% towards San Francisco.
On a number of events, McCaffrey both discovered himself in single protection towards a linebacker (he beat the Bucs’ Lavonte David for the 30-yarder) in man or with a number of eyes on him when Tampa was in zone.
The consequence was an offense that labored the center of the sphere and tacked on further yards after the catch (YAC) like 49ers groups of latest years. The Niners had a season excessive in YAC (175) whereas racking up 210 passing yards between the numbers (third finest this season).
Purdy put collectively probably the greatest second halves of his younger profession, diced up Tampa’s blitz-heavy defensive assault and unfold the ball round to all of his move catchers.
San Francisco had 5 gamers with 50-plus receiving yards. Along with McCaffrey, receivers Jauan Jennings (93), Deebo Samuel Sr. (62) and Ricky Pearsall (73) and tight finish George Kittle (50) all went over 50, tying a franchise report for essentially the most 50-plus yard receivers in a recreation. The 49ers have achieved it three different occasions.
“When he is on the market it is onerous to double-cover anyone as a result of when you try this, you then’re leaving Christian one-on-one on a linebacker more often than not,” Kittle stated. “He opens that space up for us… He makes everybody’s else’s life a lot simpler.”
No one, maybe, advantages greater than Purdy. After a sloppy first half through which he missed excessive on a number of throws, Purdy settled in, going 10-of-14 for 160 yards and a landing within the fourth quarter. With McCaffrey obtainable as a security valve, Purdy torched Tampa’s blitz, going 13-of-15 for 225 yards and a landing when the Bucs despatched an additional move rusher. That included 8-of-10 for 138 yards within the fourth quarter, Purdy’s most completions and move yards towards the blitz in 1 / 4 in his profession.
There’s loads of work to be achieved to get McCaffrey totally reintegrated and for the offense to take the following step the place its frequently ending crimson zone drives with touchdowns.
Perhaps that can occur as quickly as Sunday towards the Seattle Seahawks (4:05 p.m. ET, Fox), a staff McCaffrey has had loads of success towards in his profession. McCaffrey averages 163 scrimmage yards per recreation towards Seattle in his profession, the third-highest mark by any participant with 5 video games towards a single staff in NFL historical past, in keeping with ESPN Analysis.
McCaffrey has posted at the least 125 scrimmage yards in all six video games he has performed towards the Seahawks. If he can do it once more Sunday, he would be part of Jim Brown (vs. Philadelphia) as the one gamers with seven straight video games of 125-plus scrimmage yards towards an opponent in NFL historical past (together with playoffs).
By his personal account, McCaffrey wasn’t fairly the place he needed to be in his debut, however he additionally did not look or really feel that far off.
“There’s a few issues that perhaps I did not really feel like myself one hundred pc,” McCaffrey stated. “However that is regular when you have not performed in a very long time. I will study and develop from these and preserve trucking alongside.”
