49ers’ Christian McCaffrey Sends Strong Message on Crucial Fumble

Getty Christian McCaffrey, 49ers running back

Despite being one of the most heavily used backs in the past seven seasons, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey simply does not fumble much. In his time with the 49ers, going into Monday’s game against the Vikings, he had two, and had lost only one (against Dallas in Week 5). He’s had 11 fumbles in his career and lost only two of them.

So when McCaffrey fumbled again (and lost it) to stop the 49ers’ opening drive at the Minnesota 12-yard line, it was unusual. There were plenty of mistakes that came after that, but in a 22-17 loss, the fumble stuck with McCaffrey.

He spoke about it after the game, and sent a message to his team: Blame him for the loss.

“I think we have a team that’s hypercritical of each individual and we can’t just let it trickle down and got to take a good hard look in the mirror,” McCaffrey said, via 49ers Web Zone. “Know I’ll do that. I made a bad mistake today that I believe cost us the game if I don’t fumble that ball, and so I’m going to put it on me and go from there.”

TD Record Set With 16th Straight

Christian McCaffrey scored two touchdowns, logging 45 yards rushing on 15 carries and 51 yards receiving on three catches. He set an NFL record with touchdowns from scrimmage in 16 straight games, moving by Lenny Moore of the Colts, John Riggins of Washington and O.J. Simpson of Buffalo.

Moore had a return touchdown, so McCaffrey needs TDs in two more games to set the record for overall consecutive games with a score.

McCaffrey went into Week 7 uncertain about whether he would play, dealing with an oblique muscle issue he suffered in Week 6, a loss to Cleveland. He spoke to reporters briefly over the weekend and repeatedly said he feels, “great.”

He was asked about simply being available to play on Monday night.

“That’s a huge deal,” McCaffrey said. “That’s what you sign up to do. So if you can go, you got to go.”

Defensive lineman Arik Armstead said the team respected McCaffrey for his efforts, fumble or no.

“Christian’s a gamer,” defensive tackle Arik Armstead said, per the San Francisco Chronicle. “Big-time player. He wanted to be out there with us. And there’s a lot of respect for a guy who is banged-up and goes out there and lays it all on the line.”

Christian McCaffrey Overuse a Topic Before Fumble

The Christian McCaffrey fumble comes amid speculation that the 49ers are overusing him. McCaffrey entered Week 7 third in the NFL with 22.2 touches per game. He has 125 rushing attempts to his credit, and has gone for a league-best 598 yards on the ground.

McCaffrey led the league in touches in 2019, when he had 403 in total. He is on pace now for 367 touches this season, which would be the second-most of his NFL career.

He was not making any excuses after the game. The fumble stuck with him, and it did not appear to be going anywhere.

“Really doesn’t matter,” McCaffrey said. “If you’re out there, you have a responsibility to your teammates to play the best you can. I can’t make those mistakes like that early in the game.”