It would have been impossible to know that 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey had just barely lost the opportunity to claim the NFL record for consecutive games with a touchdown all to himself based on his demeanor as he came up to the platform after Sunday’s convincing victory over the Jaguars.
Instead, after his team’s 34-3 win against the Jaguars ended his 17-game touchdown streak on the same day as his team’s three-game losing skid, McCaffrey actually had some stuff prepared for the anticipated inquiries.
McCaffrey replied, “I suck,” a hint of a grin appearing on his face. “The rest of the squad scored as well. except from me.”
Of course McCaffrey was kidding, but the Niners took his touchdown streak seriously. Coach Kyle Shanahan of the 49ers was determined to get McCaffrey into the end zone for an 18th straight game in order to overtake Lenny Moore and claim the record alone, even with a commanding lead in the second half.
Shanahan started benching several of his starters in the fourth quarter with a 31-point lead, including left tackle Trent Williams, who has been recovering from a right ankle ailment. Additionally, he benched McCaffrey for eight straight plays, during which Elijah Mitchell, a backup, scored seven runs.
The moment the Niners reached Jacksonville’s 29, however, McCaffrey returned. After breaking away for a score on a 19-yard run, he was given two more carries and two more passes to catch.
Unfortunately, Sam Darnold, the backup quarterback, failed to make the ball in the right flat on fourth-and-goal, and the play was stopped short of the goal line. This was Jacksonville’s last chance from their five. After regaining possession of the ball, the Niners decided not to put McCaffrey’s injury at additional danger.
“Seventeen straight games is a huge record,” Shanahan said. “I was going to attempt to do that for him if we had the opportunity to do that. It makes me a bit anxious. I didn’t want to do him any harm at all. Although I wish we could have done it for him, I consider it a significant achievement that he was able to do it for 17 games in a row.”
The Niners had not won a game in thirty-four days as of Sunday. During that time, they had suffered devastating road defeats to the Browns and Vikings as well as a 31-17 home loss to the Bengals.
Following a five-game winning run to start the season, which led many to believe the Niners were not only favorites to win the Super Bowl, but the clear favorite, came those defeats and the bye.
The disheartening run of losses raised many questions about the Niners’ problems. Numerous problems surfaced, including costly late errors by quarterback Brock Purdy (and early ones by McCaffrey), inconsistent pass rush and defensive tackles, and missed kicks.
As part of the team’s attempts to turn things around, the Niners traded defensive end Chase Young for a 2023 third-round compensatory selection and promoted defensive coordinator Steve Wilks from the coach’s booth to the field. These transactions occurred within the last two weeks.
After recovering from a shoulder injury on Sunday, wide receiver Deebo Samuel remarked on Thursday that Monday’s practice felt like “Day 1 of training camp” because of how energized and eager the squad was to start the season strong. It was a major factor in Williams’ decision to play with his damaged ankle even though, in his judgment, he was only approximately 75–80% healthy.
According to Williams, “I think it was huge.” After four consecutive losses, I believe a lot of people would have wanted to activate the panic lights or felt like we were almost up against the wall. We really needed to come out and grab this victory on the road against a very strong club that has been playing well.”
McCaffrey had 142 scrimmage yards despite failing to score. Moreover, Purdy had one of his best games, completing 19 of 26 passes for 296 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.
The Jaguars were only able to muster 221 yards from the defense, which also produced four interceptions and five sacks of quarterback Trevor Lawrence. When the sideline entered the field during cornerback Ambry Thomas’ fumble return, it was marked for unsportsmanlike behavior, which resulted in a touchdown callback for the defense.
Safety Ji’Ayir Brown and rookie linebacker Dee Winters were two of the players on the field.
Shanahan could not have been furious with the kids since he was also on the field, but he would have been under regular circumstances.
Shanahan said, “That was a strategic move so we could let the offense do it.” “I was furious with myself and believed the play was over. We were unable to see, so everyone leaped up. When this occurs, you go out to congratulate people on returning, but they don’t come back to say thank you. We are aware that you are unable to play. Personally, I believed the drama to be over. Although incredibly sad, our crew learned a lot from their running right past us.”
For the first time in almost a month, the 49ers seemed like the club that began the season looking every bit the part of a juggernaut. It was the sort of day where a lot went right, little went wrong.
Linebacker Fred Warner welcomed McCaffrey as he left the dais, giving him a hug and encouraging words, saying, “Sorry Christian, but we won the game.”
McCaffrey had previously received this message.
“It means a lot to me for them to keep me in at the end of the game there and try to give me that record,” McCaffrey said. “But hey, I’ll take a huge win.”
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