The San Francisco 49ers have won seven consecutive games, with their latest coming on Thursday night against the Seattle Seahawks to clinch the NFC West crown. Maybe not so coincidentally, those wins have all come with Christian McCaffrey starting at running back.
McCaffrey was in on 23 snaps during the Week 8 contest against the Kansas City Chiefs, just days after the Carolina Panthers traded him to the 49ers. That was the last time San Francisco lost a game. The star running back has averaged more than twice the snaps per game (48.7) since then, becoming a significant part of head coach Kyle Shanahan's game plans.
McCaffrey carried the football eight times against the Chiefs and was targeted by then-starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo twice. Since then, McCaffrey has averaged 15.3 carries and seven targets per game, racking up 496 rushing yards, 322 receiving yards, four rushing touchdowns, and three receiving touchdowns during that span. His seven total touchdowns tie wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk for the team lead.
"He's gotten better each week," defensive end Nick Bosa said after Thursday night's game. "He's learning the scheme. We made the trade because we knew how unbelievable of a player he was and how good he can be in this scheme. It took him a little bit to get used to it, but I've never been around a guy who cares more about performing.
"It's literally his livelihood, and adding a guy like that to the team, especially at a position [that is] obviously super important in Kyle's offense, it was a very important addition."
It's yet another weapon that defenses have to account for, one that is dangerous carrying the football and hauling in passes. McCaffrey is having a career year in the eyes of Pro Football Focus. His 87.6 overall grade is a career-high, even better than the 86.5 overall grade in 2019 when the running back racked up 2,392 all-purpose yards.
"[He's] just given us another weapon in a different area," Shanahan explained. "I think we've got a lot of guys who are interchangeable but to have a back who's such a threat out of the backfield on pass plays, to me, as good as anyone in the league at that, and then plus the runner that he is, pairing him with some of our guys, we haven't had to force much to him.
"When you can run the ball, and you can catch checkdowns, and also be the main guy in some routes, it's a great weapon to have."
McCaffrey finished with 108 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown on 26 carries, and six catches for 30 receiving yards against Seattle.
Tight end George Kittle, who recorded his second game this season of 93-or-more receiving yards and his second with multiple touchdowns, loves watching his teammate with the football in his hands.
"I'll say this: Whenever Christian McCaffrey touches a football, I think it's going to be a touchdown," Kittle shared. "He ran his tail off tonight. He was violent. He was physical. He got downhill, made guys miss. And then for him to get a touchdown, too, it was awesome."
Bosa, known for his dedication to his craft and willingness to go above and beyond in preparing for each opponent, sees a similar work ethic in his offensive teammate.
"Football means everything to him," Bosa said of McCaffrey. "And a lot of guys, it means everything to you, but I don't think he would be happy if he wasn't performing at the level that he expects. And even when he is performing well, I think the biggest thing for him is there's always more.
"And he's always finding more ways to get better. And he's always frustrated with his performance, which is kind of like me because no matter how good you play, there's always more. Yeah, he's a beast."