Two Surprise Running Backs Join Christian McCaffrey in Crucial Fantasy Football Stat

The 49ers running back dominated touches in Week 9 as he does every week but shockingly CMC was joined by two under the radar backs.

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during a week 9 game between New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Christian McCaffrey regained his running back momentum in Week 9 by posting his second impact game (28/106/1 with five catches for 67 yards and one touchdown) of the season. The 49ers gave him a week-high 33 touches, pushing his season total to 229. He is on pace for 432 touches, with 2,308 combined yards (1,126/1,182), 115 catches, and 15 touchdowns.

Only three other running backs scored 20.00 fantasy points or more in PPR formats.

• Rico Dowdle (28.10)

·      Kyle Monangai (22.80)

·      Josh Jacobs (20.00)

Running Back Rushing Yards 2025 | Shawn Childs

The Panthers have the top rushing offense in the NFL, ranking first in rushing yards (1,182) and rushing attempts (244). They’ve played one more game than six of the top 10 teams in rushing yards.

Indianapolis failed to score a rushing touchdown in Week 9 vs. the Steelers, but they remain first in the league in running back scores on the ground (15), followed by Detroit (10) and Green Bay (10).

Running Back Fantasy Points | Shawn Childs

The 49ers’ back reclaimed first place in fantasy points (294.70) in PPR formats, thanks to their massive edge in catches (80), receiving yards (763), and targets (103). Miami (5) and San Francisco (5) have the most receiving touchdowns by running backs.

Week 9 Touches

Ten running backs had 20 touches or more last week, but six of those players failed to score 20.00 fantasy points in PPR formats. Christian McCaffrey (33) and Rico Dowdle (27) led the way by scoring 1.04 fantasy points per touch. 

Running Back Total Touches Week 9 | Shawn Childs

Note: I added three highlighted stat columns: TCH = touches, FPTs = fantasy points in PPR scoring, and FPT/T = fantasy points per touch (PPR)

Kyle Monangai (198 combined yards with three catches) was a great fill-in for D’Andre Swift. In comparison, TreVeyon Henderson (87 combined yards with four catches on 18 touches) lost his potential impact ceiling due to the Patriots giving Terrell Jennings 12 touches (11/35/1 with one catch for nine yards).

Find out where Kyle Monangai and Rico Dowdle rank for the rest of the season.

This season, there have been 47 running back games with over 100 yards rushing.

• Week 1 (3) – Derrick Henry (169), Travis Etienne (143), and Breece Hall (107)

·      Week 2 (4) – Jonathan Taylor (165), Bijan Robinson (143), James Cook (132), and Kenneth Walker (105)

·      Week 3 (4) – David Montgomery (151), Jordan Mason (116), James Cook (108), and Jonathan Taylor (102)

·      Week 4 (5) – Ashton Jeanty (138), Omarion Hampton (128), Travis Etienne (124), James Cook (117), and J.K. Dobbins (101)

·      Week 5 (5) – Rico Dowdle (206), Javonta Williams (135), Breece Hall (113), Jacory Croskey-Merritt (111), and Quinshon Judkins (110)

·      Week 6 (7) – Rico Dowdle (183), Bijan Robinson (170), De’Von Achane (128), Kimani Vidal (124), Jonathan Taylor (123), Derrick Henry (122), and D’Andre Swift (108)

·      Week 7 (6) – Jahmyr Gibbs (136), Christian McCaffrey (129), Jaylen Warren (127), D’Andre Swift (124), Javonte Williams (116), and Chase Brown (108)

·      Week 8 (7) – James Cook (216), Jonathan Taylor (153), Saquon Barkley (150), Breece Hall (133), Kimani Vidal (117), J.K. Dobbins (111), and Tank Bigsby (104)

·      Week 9 (6) – Kyle Monangai (176), Rico Dowdle (130), Derrick Henry (119), James Cook (114), Kyren Williams (114), and Christian McCaffrey (106)

Here are the top 15 running backs in touches after nine games:

Running Backs Total Touches Weeks 1-9 | Shawn Childs

Here are the top 10 running backs in fantasy points per touch (PPR) with 100 touches or more:

• Jonathan Taylor (1.21)

·      Bijan Robinson (1.07)

·      De’Von Achane (1.05)

·      Jahmyr Gibbs (1.03)

·      Cam Skattebo (1.02)

·      Christian McCaffrey (1.01)

·      Javonte Williams (0.98)

·      Josh Jacobs (0.96)

·      D’Andre Swift (0.96)

·      James Cook (0.91)