Before Christian McCaffrey or Marshall Faulk, versatile running backs who were as potent catching passes as they were carrying the football out of the backfield, there was Roger Craig.
Craig, the renowned San Francisco 49ers great, amassed 483 receptions for 4,241 receiving yards and 16 receiving touchdowns in his first seven NFL seasons. Those 483 receptions were a record for NFL running backs, one that has stood since the 1989 season. No running back has surpassed that mark through their first seven seasons—until today.
McCaffrey made history with his fourth reception against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, breaking Craig's NFL record. Entering the game, McCaffrey had 480 receptions for 4,095 yards and 26 touchdowns over his seven NFL seasons. His fourth catch came just seconds before halftime, ahead of the 49ers taking a 13-7 lead with a field goal.
While McCaffrey narrowly missed setting a new NFL record last week, aiming to become the first player in history to score at least one touchdown in 18 consecutive games, including the playoffs, he fell short against the Jacksonville Jaguars. McCaffrey remains tied with former Baltimore Colts running back Lenny Moore at 17 straight games.
Although, the 49ers running back already has one touchdown against the Buccaneers, which means he has just 17 more consecutive games to break the record.
#49ers strike first, take a 7-0 lead against the Buccaneers with a Purdy-to-CMC TD! #TBvsSF #FTTB pic.twitter.com/CoYrHtqqJF
— 49ers Webzone (@49erswebzone) November 19, 2023
Reflecting on sharing the record with Moore, McCaffrey expressed, "I think that was a huge honor for me because I had gone back and looked at all of his, not just his statistics, but the film, and he's a special player, a special back, somebody who did a lot off the field as well. And just to have my name mentioned with his name means a lot to me because he's a legend, obviously wears a gold jacket. So yeah, that's an honor."