San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey delivered when his team needed it most on Sunday in the Wild Card round.
McCaffrey caught a 4-yard touchdown pass as the 49ers beat the Philadelphia Eagles 23-19 to eliminate the defending Super Bowl champions. Overall, he had six catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns, plus 15 carries for 48 yards on the ground.
“… God is good, man. Our team fights,” McCaffrey told FOX’s Tom Rinaldi afterward. “We take each day at a time and go as hard as we can every single time. Man, I love this group so much. I don’t have enough good things to say. I’m proud of being part of this team.”
San Francisco overcame fourth-quarter deficits twice with McCaffrey hauling in touchdowns, and the 49ers rebounded from a Week 18 loss to the Seattle Seahawks that cost the No. 1 seed. The 49ers will face the Seahawks next in the Divisional Round on Saturday.
Christian McCaffrey: ‘You Don’t Know It Until It Happens’
Many of the 49ers players have been in this spot before with a potential deep playoff run, but this 49ers team has particularly dealt with injuries and setbacks, leading up to Sunday’s game in Philly.
“You definitely, you don’t know it until it happens,” McCaffrey told FOX’s Erin Andrews in a pregame feature. “I think you learn and grow with the team as the season goes on, and as games go on, you win and lose, and you kind of find out the character of your team each week.
“I think our team character is representative of each individual’s character,” McCaffrey added. “We have so many guys that individually were counted out in their lives and were kind of underdogs. And I think when you all kind of collectively come together, it makes for a special group.”
Brock Purdy on Beating the Eagles
Niners quarterback Brock Purdy, who threw the game-winning touchdown to McCaffrey, emphasized that it took everyone to pull off the road win on Sunday.
“It was not an easy task and obviously, it’s the NFL, so it never is, but for us to come in here and just do whatever it takes,” Purdy told reporters afterward. “Obviously, you wish you could play a little better in certain areas in certain situations, but at the end of the day, it’s a fourth-quarter game.”
“You got to score for the season, for your team, and obviously for the defense to go down and get a stop like that, it was huge,” Purdy added. “So it’s a team effort, really is. It’s just cool for everybody across the board to be able to have this kind of win and celebrate all the stuff that we’ve been through. Obviously, we’re excited for next week, too.”
Purdy made the next week possible as he led a 10-play, 66-yard scoring drive, which led to his touchdown pass to McCaffrey to go ahead to stay. Overall, Purdy went 18-31 for 262 yards passing and two touchdowns. Purdy only took one sack for the game, and he overcame throwing two interceptions.
49ers’ Christian McCaffrey Sends Strong Message on Beating Eagles