#christian-mccaffrey

#christian-mccaffrey

Christian McCaffrey went from a question mark to an exclamation point Thursday night when the 49ers' running back was named the NFL's Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year at honors night at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. The NFL's Offensive Player of the Year in 2023, McCaffery played just four games last season because of bilateral Achilles tendinitis and a PCL strain.

"This was one of the hardest years of my life," McCaffrey said. "Everything that happened to me last year ... I kind of had to overcome a lot of odds." In a season in which 49ers stars fell from the sky with alarming frequency, it was McCaffrey who remained in the center of it all. Quarterback Brock Purdy, tight end George Kittle, defensive end Nick Bosa, receiver Brandon Aiyuk, linebacker Fred Warner and left tackle Trent Williams all missed at least one game because of injury.

You can stare at the game tape until your retinas detach. You can break down the metrics until you're hallucinating EPA. None of that will tell you a single useful thing going into this NFC Divisional Round. That is the specific, high-grade torment of this Saturday's rubber match between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. We are well past the point of X's and O's here, folks. We have waded deep into the murky waters of psychological warfare.

Chances are pretty good it will happen again Sunday for McCaffrey. In the 49ers' 26-8 win over Cleveland before the bye, McCaffrey opened the scoring with a 1-yard run. It was his 13th touchdown of the season. Including the playoffs, McCaffrey has played 50 games for the 49ers and scored 52 touchdowns. Nobody in franchise history not even all-time NFL touchdown leader Jerry Rice with 208 has averaged more than a touchdown per game in their first 50 games.

To some, the term system quarterback is a pejorative. But in this 49ers' offensive system, with Kyle Shanahan calling the plays and Christian McCaffrey making plays out of the backfield, it seems like calling Niners quarterback Mac Jones a system guy is a mighty fine compliment. Not everyone can execute the game plan in the NFL. In fact, very few players can.

The Atlanta Falcons knew they'd have to stop Christian McCaffrey, and they knew they'd need to attack a vulnerable San Francisco linebacker corps and secondary. While there were moments, and even long stretches where the defense held up despite the loss of Divine Deablo, they didn't do any of that on a consistent basis. They lost by failing to do what they knew must be done.