Getty Christian McCaffrey scoring a touchdown for the San Francisco 49ers.
With the San Francisco 49ers down starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who suffered a potentially season-ending injury in Week 13, Brock Purdy was going to need all of the help he could get to take down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their Hall of Fame-bound quarterback Tom Brady, who grew up not too far away from Levi’s Stadium in San Mateo, California.
Fortunately for Purdy, the 49ers defense did their job, as Demeco Ryans’ unit allowed just seven points and none in the first half, but no player on the offensive side of the ball provided more support for the rookie quarterback than Christian McCaffrey, who became just the fifth player in NFL history to record a receiving and a rushing touchdown in 11 games, tying Jim Brown for the honor according to ESPN.
Logging 38 percent of the team’s carries, McCaffrey finished out the game with 14 carries for 119 yards and a touchdown while picking up two more catches on three targets for 34 more yards and a receiving touchdown. Had the game been more competitive, maybe McCaffrey would have been relied upon more down the stretch, but because Kyle Shanahan’s squad was up 35-7 heading into the fourth, Jordan Mason was able to close out the game with 11 carries of his own for a career-high 56 rushing yards.
McCaffrey now finds himself just five games short of the all-time record for rushing/receiving touchdown games, trailing Marshall Faulk at 15, Lenny Moore at 12, and fellow 49ers alumni Brian Westbrook at 12 as well. Considering McCaffrey is averaging a receiving and rushing touchdown every 6.45 games, including two as a 49er so far, McCaffrey has a pretty good chance to headline that list before his playing days are through.
Christian McCaffrey Was Incredibly Complementary Of Brock Purdy
Asked about how Purdy fared in his first professional start by NBC Sports Bay Area on their “49ers Postgame Live” show, McCaffrey gave major props to his new quarterback.
“I think it’s one of the most important things you can have as a quarterback and as a rookie to come in, process this offense, think about everything and execute, but also add his own little flavor to things is something that’s special,” said McCaffrey.
“You usually don’t see that in rookies. So for him to step in and play the way he’s playing is impressive. But it’s a testament to the work that he’s put in, to how serious he’s taken his role.”
After being lauded for his maturity all week long by Shanahan and others, Purdy’s first start proved that maybe the moment isn’t too big for him after all.
Christian McCaffrey Complemented The San Francisco 49ers’ Old QB Too
While Week 14 understandably will go down as “Purdy Week” in the memories of 49ers fans for years to come, McCaffrey didn’t want to give all of the credit to “Mr. No-longer-Irrelevant,” instead showing some love to Garoppolo in his interview with NBC Sports Bay Area.
“It’s a testament to guys like Jimmy who have, you know, brought him in and under his wing and showed him a lot and showed him how he works,” McCaffrey said. “And for Brock to have a role model like that and step in and play the way he’s playing is pretty cool.”
Regardless of how the season ends, it’s clear Garoppolo’s contributions will not go unnoticed, especially by his teammates.