Getty Christian McCaffrey comes down with the touchdown pass on October 30, 2022.
Christian McCaffrey can now be viewed as a closet locksmith with the way he unlocked the San Francisco 49ers on offense down in Inglewood on Sunday, October 30.
“Run CMC” created so much openings with his combination of his feet, power, hands and arm in the 31-14 romp of the rival Los Angeles Rams.
But while much of the morning after talk on Monday, October 31 centered around his rare hat trick of throwing a touchdown pass, catching a touchdown and scoring on a rushing attempt (a first in an NFL regular season game since LaDanian Tomlinson in 2005), two analysts and insiders believe that McCaffrey unlocked a needed area that’s been missing from the 49ers.
McCaffrey Unlocks Needed Element From Jimmy Garoppolo
Before McCaffrey’s arrival, Jimmy Garoppolo never had a completion percentage of higher than 70.7% in 2022. He’s had five games of settling between 59.3 to 67.6 percent.
But in Week 8? Jimmy G delivered an astonishing 84.0 percentage — which includes throwing just four incomplete passes. And even when it looked like Garoppolo was holding onto the football for too long and appeared to be needed to settle for the scramble, he showed his patience on the touchdown strike to McCaffrey:
In January, I have a feeling we’re going to look back and wonder if this was the play that injected life into the 49ers’ season.
Down 14-10, late 3rd quarter, 3rd-and-2 in the red zone.
Jimmy Garoppolo extends the play and drops it into the bucket for Christian McCaffrey.
The Athletic’s David Lombardi on Monday posted how the presence of “Run CMC” just unlocked this trait for Garoppolo moving forward.
“The McCaffrey security blanket unlocks Garoppolo’s ability to survey the whole field more often,” Lombardi tweeted. “For years, we’d seen Shanahan embed a ton of one read-and-go to shield 49ers’ pass pro. But CMC *is* pass pro. His presence gives JG license to hang in there and let routes develop.”
The McCaffrey security blanket unlocks Garoppolo’s ability to survey the whole field more often.
For years, we’d seen Shanahan embed a ton of one read-and-go to shield 49ers’ pass pro. But CMC *is* pass pro. His presence gives JG license to hang in there and let routes develop
The above touchdown proved just that. Lombardi, though, isn’t the only analyst who has witnessed how much the dynamics of the 49ers offense has changed with a heavier dose of “Run CMC.”
‘McCaffrey Was Made to Play for Kyle Shanahan’
Heavy NFL senior reporter Matt Lombardo witnessed how impactful McCaffrey is for this style of offense — which opens up more explosive plays for McCaffrey and the 49ers.
“There may not be a player more suited to play for his current head coach, or in his current scheme than Christian McCaffrey is for Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers,” Lombardo wrote on Monday. “Following his first full week in Santa Clara, in a rivalry game against the Los Angeles Rams that the Niners absolutely had to have, McCaffrey did it all.
“McCaffrey rushed for a game-high 94 yards with 1 touchdown, on the kind of runs that make Shanahan’s horizontal concepts so taxing on opposing defenses. But, that wasn’t close to the total impact McCaffrey had on the game. The former Carolina Panthers star, acquired in an October 21 trade, caught 8 passes for 55 yards with another score, creating yet another mismatch in the passing game. And, for good measure, McCaffrey threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Lombardo added “Yeah, McCaffrey had his fingerprints all over San Francisco’s signature win.” But included “Even after Sunday’s historic Week 8 performance, the Stanford grad suggested this is just him scratching the surface.”
McCaffrey told reporters that he believes “there’s still a lot of meat on the bone that I left out there.”
“I think there’s still a lot of meat on the bone that I left out there…. really understanding what we’re trying to accomplish as an offense.”
As great as today was Christian McCaffrey hinted that things could get even better for him w/49ers. 👀
Have the 49ers Re-emerged as the NFC West Favorite With the Addition of McCaffrey?
The 49ers still find themselves behind the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West standings, as the ‘Hawks extended their lead with the upset win over the previous 6-1 New York Giants.
If anything, the 49ers re-vaulted themselves into the race for the division crown. They already own a 27-7 win over Seattle before McCaffrey’s arrival. And, San Francisco is yet to lose a division game so far this season as Carolina represents the only non-division victory.
But following the dominating performance on display at SoFi Stadium, Lombardo gave this prediction of how the rest of the way can shake out for the 49ers with McCaffrey unlocking doors in the Bay Area.
“If Sunday is merely a glimpse of what McCaffrey is capable of as the focal point of a roster capable of competing, and how Shanahan plans to use him, the Niners are going to be a real factor the rest of the way,” Lombardo wrote.