The San Francisco 49ers were without reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey on Monday night, but his absence didn't slow the team down. The Niners cruised to a 32-19 victory over the New York Jets in their regular-season opener.
Ahead of the game, reports emerged that McCaffrey would miss Week 1, and ESPN's Adam Schefter added that the star running back could also be sidelined for the 49ers' Week 2 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.
"Not only is Christian McCaffrey out tonight, but there's a real chance he's not gonna play on Sunday either," Schefter said via Kyle Madson of Niners Wire. "They play on the road at Minnesota on turf on a shorter week. So, he's inactive tonight and it looks like there's a real strong possibility McCaffrey will not play Sunday against the Vikings as well."
This speculation caught head coach Kyle Shanahan by surprise.
"That's amazing," Shanahan quipped. "That person must be God because we just found out he wasn't playing today, and I have no idea how he's going to feel tomorrow or the next day. I thought he was playing this whole week until today, so I don't know who knows that he's not playing next week."
When asked about McCaffrey's injury, Shanahan explained, "Just the same stuff that was bothering him all week. There was a little too much today, game-time decision. He came in, just talking to him about it, it was still there. Thought it was going to be smart to keep him out, and glad we did."
McCaffrey seemed optimistic about playing earlier in the week, raising questions about whether he had a setback.
"No, he didn't have a setback," Shanahan shared. "I mean, it was on and off throughout the week. He was able to practice throughout the week. It was always bothering him to a degree, and sometimes it goes away, sometimes it comes back. And today, it was bothering him a little too much to where we didn't feel good about it."
Shanahan acknowledged the concern that McCaffrey's injury could linger, especially since it had affected him throughout training camp.
"But it's getting better and better, and hopefully, it'll be better next week," Shanahan added.
In McCaffrey's absence, Jordan Mason stepped up, rushing for 147 yards. In a post-game interview with ESPN, Mason mentioned that he learned he might be starting on Friday night.
"I never told Jordan he was gonna start," Shanahan declared. "I told him he had to be ready a bunch, but that might have been [RB coach] Bobby [Turner] or somebody trying to pump him up. But I knew he was gonna have to play a lot. I told him it wasn't gonna be like usual. He was gonna be a number two back that was splitting a lot of the time. But no, he didn't know he for sure was doing that until today."
Mason was visibly frustrated when asked to confirm when he found out he'd be starting against the Jets.
"That question right there is why I don't like really talking to media," Mason responded, "because you say one thing wrong and then ... I don't know. Just skip that question."