SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers had a productive offense under coach Kyle Shanahan for a while when the team made the big deal to acquire Christian McCaffrey from Carolina three years ago.
The addition of one of the NFL’s best dual-threat backs ever elevated that offense to another level that will be on display for the Panthers (6-5) when they face the 49ers (7-4) on Monday night for the first time since that trade in 2022.
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“Just seeing how our offense has evolved since getting Christian, the things that we’ve done here the last three years that we never did just because of the ability of Christian and what he can do in the pass game,” star tight end George Kittle said. “It’s pretty incredible. Just seeing the evolution of our offense has been really cool.”
When the Niners acquired McCaffrey for four draft picks in what he described as a “bittersweet” trade in October 2022, the team was in a bit of a rut on offense, ranking 10th in the league in yards per play and 19th in scoring.
San Francisco moved into the top five in both categories once McCaffrey stepped into the starting lineup in his second game, when he pulled off the rare feat of running for a touchdown, catching a TD pass and throwing for a score in a win over the Rams.
“We knew it would be exciting to get a player like him,” Shanahan said. “Since we got him, I think players evolve offenses. Always when you get certain types of players, that’s when offenses change. You always want to attack defenses and stuff and there’s only so many ways to do it, but when you get different types of players, offenses expand, and I think he’s changed our offense since he’s gotten here.”
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McCaffrey has done that by being at least as big of a threat as a receiver whether on routes out of the backfield or when lined up wide or in the slot, as he is as a runner.
McCaffrey, the son of former NFL star receiver Ed McCaffrey, takes great pride in his receiving ability even if he never officially played wide receiver.
“It was always something that I worked on my whole life,” he said. “I always played running back. I never played receiver, but I was fortunate enough to be on teams, even in little league, where they would throw the ball to me. And so it was kind of always a natural thing and I enjoyed doing it. It was another way to get the ball in my hands.”
McCaffrey helped lead the 49ers to the NFC title game his first season. The Niners then made the Super Bowl the following year when he led the NFL with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and 21 TDs on the way to being selected AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
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His 2024 season was derailed by injuries but McCaffrey is back in good form this season, leading the NFL with 1,439 yards from scrimmage as he is on pace for another season with 1,000 yards rushing and receiving.
“A guy like Christian who is an unbelievable running back, but then he’s also a really good receiver. So, who do you dedicate to him?” asked 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. “A lot of times you’re having to dedicate a linebacker to him. I’ve said it a long time ago that it’s starting to catch up a little bit, but I felt like the evolution of the running back far outpaced the evolution of the linebacker.”
McCaffrey is one of five players ever with at least 5,000 yards rushing and receiving and has set an NFL record with 17 career games with at least one TD run and one TD catch.
He leads the NFL this season with 1,439 yards from scrimmage and ranks tied for second with 11 TDs. He ranks second in the league with 74 catches, ninth with 732 yards receiving and his 80 first downs rushing and receiving are tied for the most by any player through 11 games since Arian Foster had 91 in 2010.
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That should put a major stress on a Carolina defense that will be without linebackers Trevin Wallace and Christian Rozeboom.
“You do have to respect the variety of routes that Christian McCaffrey can run from the backfield and split out,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said. “He’s got a pretty developed route tree out there. From a run game standpoint, it’s going to require just good team fits, good team football and rallying to tackle. We know he can make moves and make miss at times, so we respect all those things, but again, it’s going to come down to our fundamental execution.”
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