Getty Christian McCaffrey of the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers superstar running back Christian McCaffrey has taken the NFL by storm since entering the league back in 2017. Despite numerous accolades and record-breaking performances, no award or record may be more remarkable to the child in us all as the one McCaffrey was rewarded this week.
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Christian McCaffrey Earns 99-Rating in Madden
Carolina Panthers’ Christian McCaffrey has added yet another prestigious accomplishment to his NFL resume, despite being just 23 years of age. The running back shot up three-points from a 96-overall rating to a 99-overall rating this week after accumulating 191 yards from scrimmage against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 11.
Run CMC is now the youngest football player in EA Sports’ Madden video game 31-year franchise history to join the much notable 99-rating club.
McCaffrey, an avid Madden player growing up, wasn’t shy about hiding his excitement about accomplishing such a monumental feat.
@run__cmc Grew up playing @EAMaddenNFL now in the #99Club!
😱😱😱
MVP Award Next Up for Run CMC?
In just 10 games this season Christian McCaffrey has rushed for 1,059 yards. That’s just 39 rushing yards less than he had over a 16-game span a year ago. McCaffrey now ranks tops in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns (11), and ypc (5.3) amongst all NFL starting running backs.
Run CMC has put an emphasis on the run part of his nickname this season, improving leaps and bounds compares to years past. After averaging less than 48 rushing yards per game over his first two NFL seasons, McCaffrey has more than doubled that number this season. The Panthers do-it-all back has averaged a staggering 105.9 rushing yards per game in 2019, the most in football, and he’s just one of two players to average 100+ rushing yards on a per-game basis this season.
His brilliance doesn’t just end there. CMC, the league’s top dual-threat out of the backfield, continues to dominate opposing defenses on a weekly basis just as much as a receiver as he does as a runner. The former Stanford Cardinal is tied for 11th league-wide, regardless of position, with the likes of Julio Jones for the most receptions in football with 59. McCaffrey’s 1,576 yards from scrimmage this season outpace the next closest player by 104 yards.
Running backs don’t tend to get much love in the MVP race in today’s NFL. Since 2007, Adrian Peterson (2012) is the only non-QB to be awarded the league’s Most Valuable Player award.
McCaffrey will have his hands full fending off signal-callers such as Lamar Jackson and Russell Wilson for the right to claim the award. He will also need help from his team, as an unsuccessful record does not bode well for one’s MVP campaign. The Panthers have now dropped three of their past four games, and have another tough matchup ahead of them this week against 2011’s and 2014’s league MVP Aaron Rodgers, and his Green Bay Packers.
While McCaffrey may struggle to defeat the stigma of the MVP being a QB-only award, an argument could be made that no player in football marks off more of the criteria needed to claim the award than McCaffrey does. Run CMC is an MVP in every sense of the term.