In 2023, the San Francisco 49ers had the best red zone offense in the NFL. They are currently near the bottom at 27th, converting touchdowns on only 48.6 percent of their trips inside the 20-yard line. But they will soon get help with star running back Christian McCaffrey returning to the offense.
Head Coach Kyle Shanahan told Greg Papa, during the latest episode of "49ers Game Plan" on NBC Sports Bay Area, that the team is excited to be getting McCaffrey back. "He looked good," Shanahan said. "Yeah, we're excited to have him back. He should be good to go here. We got to be smart with him. We'll find out as the game goes, what the exact plan is, but I just know we're pumped to have him back."
The 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year has missed all eight games this season, dealing with Achilles tendonitis. While it appears the 49ers will activate last season's NFL rushing champ for Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team expects to be cautious with him.
"We'll see as it goes with Christian," Shanahan added. "You don't sit there and just split everything up just to do it. You keep the people out there that give you the best chance to win on each play, and Christian is just a little bit different because he does so much extra besides running the ball."
In McCaffrey's absence, RB Jordan Mason has performed well, rushing for 685 yards and three touchdowns. And when Mason started dealing with an injury of his own (shoulder), rookie RB Isaac Guerendo filled in. Two weeks ago, against the Dallas Cowboys, Guerendo had his best game, rushing for 85 yards and one touchdown. So far this season, the rookie has run for 227 yards on 37 carries (6.1 yards per carry).
"But, it's been good not having him, getting those guys so much playing time," Shanahan said. "JP's been in and out over the last couple years, but he's never been able to carry an entire game. For him to carry us…he's gotten better each week. He's really shown everyone that he can do it. And then Isaac, we loved his talent, but you need to get in those games, you need to get the reps…He's shown some promising things and some things he's got to improve at and the stuff we hit him hard at practice with."
Still, Shanahan is happy to get his best offensive weapon back on the field. Asked if getting McCaffrey back will solve the 49ers offensive problems, namely the red zone issues, Shanahan believes it will help.
"I wouldn't say 'solve them,' but he definitely helps," Shanahan told Papa. "There's nothing in football that I believe one guy can solve; it's 11 guys tied together, so many things going in different directions. But when you have a player like Christian, he helps a lot.
"We're very low on the red zone right now. We're doing decent on third down, we'd like to do better. But the red zone has been a struggle, and adding a player like Christian, it definitely doesn't hurt."
The 49ers look to win back-to-back games for the first time this season. A win on Sunday would improve their record to 5-4.
Watch the entire interview below:
- Marc Adams
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Written by:Speaker. Writer. Covering the San Francisco 49ers. Host of the 49ers Camelot show.
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