San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey has achieved another milestone, needing only 68 scrimmage yards to surpass 2,000 total yards in a single season for the second time in his career. In 2019, his third year in the league, McCaffrey first accomplished this feat, amassing 2,392 scrimmage yards.
McCaffrey crossed the 2,000-yard mark in the second quarter, becoming the fourth player in franchise history to do so. He joins Frank Gore (2,180 yards in 2006), Garrison Hearst (2,105 yards in 1998), and Roger Craig (2,066 yards in 1985 and 2,036 yards in 1988) as the only 49ers ever to achieve this.
Entering Week 17 with an NFL-leading 1,395 rushing yards and 21 total touchdowns (tied for first with Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert), McCaffrey has been a big reason behind the 49ers' success this season.
This past week, head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about McCaffrey's durability and performance this season.
"I've been impressed since he's gotten here," Shanahan stated. "I mean, the guy is insane in how hard he prepares, not just in the season, but I saw him like a week after the season last year, and he had a drink with me, and he had actually a second one. He's like, 'Well, I only got like four more days left, so I'm going to have a couple for the next four days.' And I'm like, 'Dude, we just finished like five days ago.'
"He gives himself like 12 days off, and he's right back to preparing in every aspect he goes through. And he also made it very clear to me when he got here his injuries aren't because of wear and tear. They're because of freak things that happened. I'm not saying that for us, but that's how he is. He strongly believes that, he strongly prepares that way, and he's proven himself right in everything I've dealt with him on."
McCaffrey becomes only the third player in NFL history to record at least 2,000 scrimmage yards in a season for two different teams, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer running backs Eric Dickerson (L.A. Rams and Indianapolis Colts) and Marshall Faulk (St. Louis Rams and Colts).
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