49ers-Buccaneers: Christian McCaffrey looks like his old self in return from injury

Somewhat lost amid the insanity of the San Francisco 49ers' 23-20 road win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday was the extremely good news that running back Christian McCaffrey showed little if any signs of rust in his 2024 season debut, which came after missing the first half of the season with Achilles tendonitis.

McCaffrey was given the green light to play after returning to practice on November 4 and finished with 13 carries for 39 yards and six catches for 68 yards against the Buccaneers, including a huge 30-yard catch during a topsy-turvy fourth quarter that helped set up a go-ahead touchdown with just over seven minutes to play. For McCaffrey, whose journey back to the field included a trip to Germany to see a specialist after sitting out the preseason, getting the chance to return to game action brought a sigh of relief.

"I'm just happy I'm here, man. That was a long journey and a lot of long days," McCaffrey told reporters after the win. "So it feels good to win and feels good to just play in a football game again."

Not everything clicked on Sunday for McCaffrey, who admitted after the game there were moments where he could tell he wasn't completely back in game shape. But given the circumstances, what McCaffrey was able to do can certainly be viewed as a significant step forward.

"That's the third time I've had pads on in eight weeks," McCaffrey said. "So just getting back into a groove, that was really good for me to do. I think there's a couple things that maybe I didn't feel like myself 100 percent, but that's normal when you haven't played in a long time. I'll learn and grow from those and just keep trucking along."

McCaffrey was able to be a factor throughout the entire game, perhaps with the help of a little load management. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said there was an effort to give McCaffrey some breathers in the first half, while a lack of overall offensive snaps for the team in the third quarter helped ensure he'd have the energy to be on the field down the stretch.

"He came out great, which was huge," Shanahan said. "We knew it was going to be hard to 'load manage' him, as I think everyone says in the media -- I just say 'not play him as much' -- but I thought we did that in the first half .We did it a couple series and stuff. In the second half it got away from us a little bit. I think we only had one drive in that whole third quarter, didn't have as many possessions. We weren't taking him out on the fourth and he didn't need to be taken out. Just talking to him, he felt great and we're going to be pumped to have him back next week."

McCaffrey said after the game he felt better than he expected physically, but how he feels on Monday will be more telling.

"I thought I was going to be a lot more sore, but we'll see how I feel tomorrow," McCaffrey said. "I never liked saying anything until you wake up."

McCaffrey had a number of moments during the game where he showed the trademark playmaking ability the 49ers missed while he was away, then delivered one of the game's most important plays with his 30-yard reception. The catch came on a 1st-and-10 at the 49ers' 47-yard line when Purdy lofted a pass in McCaffrey's direction while facing heavy pressure. McCaffrey hauled it in, then four plays later the 49ers scored a touchdown to take a 20-17 fourth quarter lead.

"It was a great throw," McCaffrey said. "He had pressure in his face, I guess, and it was perfectly thrown ball. That's not easy to put touch on it, to understand where I'm at on the field and to be able to put that there. And it was a big play."

Purdy told reporters that McCaffrey's return proved to be vital on Sunday, both with what he provided with his presence on offense and what it meant to have him back in the huddle.

"I think it was awesome," Purdy said. "Just what he can do running the ball and then coming out of the backfield in our pass game, we had multiple plays with him out of the backfield. There were some big plays throwing the ball and then for defenses, they have to scheme that up. They have to acknowledge him, which can open up some other guys. I thought at the end we had one-on-one opportunities where we saw (wide receiver) Ricky Pearsall winning, and there's guys that are now one-on-one and can win matchups.

"And so for us, as an offense, we know that. But more than anything, just seeing how gritty and tough he is, we get behind him. He inspires us and he keeps us all sort of going and lights that fire in our huddle. So it's huge having him in there."

The win moved the 49ers' record to 5-4 on the season and gave them momentum as they begin their push towards a playoff spot. The 49ers haven't lost often with McCaffrey in the lineup since they acquired him in a trade in October of 2022, so his return undoubtedly adds confidence to the team after an up-and-down first half of the season. McCaffrey's performance on Sunday left reason to believe the 49ers will have him at his best the rest of the way, but for now, he's happy to have taken that first step and get back to doing the job he loves.

"When you miss time due to something like that, you know, nobody wants to be on the field more than me," McCaffrey said. "Just to be out there again, to be honest with you, you really realize how much of a privilege it is to play football."