The San Francisco 49ers got a little closer to complete Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when running back Christian McCaffrey returned to the lineup.
It wasn’t a perfect day for the 49ers’ offense, but McCaffrey looked mostly like himself and had an immediate impact for San Francisco.
McCaffrey played 89 percent of the offensive snaps according to CBS Sports’ Dave Richard. He churned out 39 rushing yards on 13 carries, and hauled in six of his seven targets for 68 yards.
The 49ers’ offensive line struggled some against Tampa Bay’s defensive line and led to a handful of carries where McCaffrey didn’t have much room.
Despite the lack of rushing production, McCaffrey’s presence in the passing game made life easier for quarterback Brock Purdy, who made a handful of checkdown throws to McCaffrey instead of taking off running or forcing a throw into a tight window down the field.
He was also on the receiving end of a huge completion in the fourth quarter. With the 49ers trailing 17-13, McCaffrey was matched up one-on-one in coverage and had a step on his defender. Purdy was under pressure and had to throw early. He lofted a pass into the area ahead of McCaffrey, allowing the RB to race underneath it for a 30-yard completion.
That was the kind of play the 49ers weren’t able to run with Jordan Mason or Isaac Guerendo. And even if they ran it, Purdy likely wouldn’t have had the trust with one of them to air out a throw the way he did.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan after the game told reporters McCaffrey also made it through the game without any issues.
“He came out great, which was huge,” Shanahan said. “We knew it was going to be hard to load manage him, I think everyone says in the media, I just say not play him as much. We did that in the first half, we did a couple series and stuff, in the second half it got away from us a little bit. We only had one drive in that whole third quarter – didn’t have as many possessions and we weren’t taking him out on the fourth, and he didn’t need to be taken out, talking to him, he felt great. Going to be pumped to have him back next week.”
San Francisco isn’t out of the woods just because McCaffrey returned. They still struggled in the red zone, which was an area the reigning Offensive Player of the Year figured to help. He wasn’t much of a factor there, and Guerendo even got in for a couple of red zone snaps.
That’s something the 49ers and McCaffrey will need to iron out. For now they benefitted from his return enough to earn a win in Tampa Bay. They may need more down the stretch if they’re going to make a playoff run this season.
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