SANTA CLARA, Calif. – San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan insinuated that he wants Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons to be a big night for running back Christian McCaffrey.
On Saturday, Shanahan challenged his team to get 40 carries against the Falcons, a number that would mean the Niners controlled the line of scrimmage and got the ball to McCaffrey early and often.
Tight end George Kittle, returning from a right hamstring injury that caused him to miss five games, was less subtle.
“Every Saturday night, our tight ends coach (Brian) Fleury wants all the tight ends to stand up in front of the room and set a goal,” Kittle said. “Whether it’s dominating the edges, tight touchdowns, whatever the goals are. And my goal this week was CMC (to be) NFC Player of the Week. And if I actually called that, it might be the best guess ever.”
After the 49ers put the finishing touches on a 20-10 victory to improve to 5-2, Kittle’s goal seemed extremely realistic. McCaffrey, who remained the focal point of the Niners’ offense despite the unit’s injuries, turned in his best performance in a busy season.
By the time McCaffrey was finished, he had posted a season-high 129 rushing yards on 24 carries with 2 rushing touchdowns. He also led the Niners in receiving with seven catches for 72 yards, including a 17-yard catch on third-and-13 before his game-sealing 4-yard touchdown run.
His 201 scrimmage yards were McCaffrey’s most as a Niner and accounted for 62% of the team’s scrimmage yards, the highest percentage for any player in a game this season. And although the 49ers finished one short of Shanahan’s field goal on 40 carries, they racked up a season-high 174 rushing yards on 39 attempts, an average of 4.5 yards per carry, also a season high.
McCaffrey continued to etch his name in the franchise and league record books for all-around production.
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It was McCaffrey’s sixth game this season with 50-plus rushing yards and 50-plus receiving yards, the most by any player in NFL history through a team’s first seven games.
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It was McCaffrey’s ninth career game with 100+ rushing yards and 50+ receiving yards, tied with Jim Brown and Priest Holmes for third in NFL history.
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McCaffrey joined Roger Craig (1988) as the only 49ers to have seven consecutive games of 100-plus yards from scrimmage to open a season.
In Sunday night games, McCaffrey leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage (981), and his six total touchdowns are tied for fourth. Although the running game has struggled mightily through the first six games, McCaffrey is on pace to accumulate over 1,000 rushing and receiving yards, and, at his current pace, would surpass the NFL record of 1,097 receiving yards by a running back in a season with room to spare.
“He’s huge,” Shanahan said. “He’s the most consistent player I’ve been around. He just keeps you on track. He gains every yard in the running game and then some and what he does in the passing game…it’s rare that you throw a ball to him and can’t finish it.”
After another do-it-all performance, McCaffrey quickly credited his teammates. It’s no coincidence that the 49ers’ running game took off when Kittle returned. McCaffrey had 20 carries for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns when Kittle was on the field, compared to four carries for 3 yards when he was not.
Although Kittle’s 114-game receiving streak ended, his presence was felt not only as a blocker in the running game, but also in the attention he drew from defenders. On third-and-13 passing to help seal the victory, 49ers quarterback Mac Jones said he saw several Falcons cover Kittle, leaving McCaffrey one-on-one for the easy first down.
“It’s a different game when he’s in there,” McCaffrey said. “Even though he doesn’t have a great statistical game, the attention he attracts is so great… When you have guys like that on the field, their presence alone scares the coordinators a lot and so you have to watch them.”
Kittle’s return wasn’t the only emotional pick-me-up for the 49ers. After losing star linebacker Fred Warner (right ankle surgery) for the season, the Niners spent the week answering questions about how the defense would perform without Warner (and star defensive end Nick Bosa, who suffered a torn right ACL in Week 3).
Niners linebacker Dee Winters arrived at the game wearing Warner’s No. 54 jersey, several players warmed up wearing a shirt with Warner’s face on it, and Warner received a loud ovation before the game when he rode onto the field using a scooter. During the game, Warner was shown holding his young son in a suite and it drew cheers so loud that Kittle joked that the Niners’ offense had to almost silently count on that play.
Perhaps no one was more inspired by Warner’s absence than his replacement, second-year linebacker Tatum Bethune. Bethune said he cried before the game, not only because Warner was out, but for the chance to prove to doubters that the 49ers defense can still slow down opponents.
For the second straight week, Bethune finished with 10 tackles, leading a Niners defense that held Atlanta to 292 yards on 4.9 yards per play, including a season-low 62 rushing yards.
“I saw it all, and on defense we didn’t talk about it, but I felt a certain way about it,” Bethune said. “I was emotional before the game. … It’s a shame that Fred got hurt, but it’s also an opportunity for me to be able to grow and improve as much as I can before he comes back.”
