Christian McCaffrey Leads 49ers Backfield in Wild Card Win
In this story:
I projected McCaffrey to have over 120 yards and a touchdown he rushed for 119 yards on 15 carries for an average of 7.9 yards per carry with a long of 68 yards. He also had 17 yards receiving. McCaffrey was hungry for the ball every time he touched the ball he was gaining positive yards even on plays where there was nothing there for him to get.
McCaffrey led all running backs in yards after contact, breaking 7 tackles and gaining 89 yards after contact! He averaged 5.93 yards after contact, which led the NFL during the weekend.
McCaffrey was definitely a big part of why the 49ers beat the Seahawks 41-23. In the second half, McCaffrey was the go-to guy in the run game. Kyle Shanahan called his number during the first few drives to get the lead and after that, the entire offense was unlocked.
I expected more work in the passing game for McCaffrey but, the 49ers used him when they needed him the most and he came through and made the Seahawks pay. The 49ers are going to be playing either the Cowboys or the Buccaneers in the Divisional round and that is when his number may be called more than 17 times during the game.
17 touches and being that productive in the Wild Card round is amazing, he also had the ability to rest throughout the 4th quarter, so he will have fresh legs with a full 7 days of rest prior to the divisional round.