With four touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Christian McCaffrey made it clear he was something special in the 49ers’ 35-16 win at Levi’s Stadium.
The star running back rocketed into the NFL MVP conversation with 177 all-purpose yards — 106 rushing and 71 receiving — and one epic hurdle in Week 4, turning in a dominant performance that was historic in more ways than one.
To put McCaffrey’s record-breaking day into perspective, here are 13 stats (courtesy of the 49ers) that show all the different ways he etched his name in football history and why it was one of the best performances of his NFL career.
- McCaffrey’s 106 yards on the ground marked his 19th career game (including playoffs) with 100 or more yards.
- McCaffrey The four TDs mark a career high and the most TDs scored in a single game by a 49ers player since RB Tevin Coleman in 2019. [four TDs vs. the Carolina Panthers (10/27/19)].
- McCaffrey joined Coleman as one of two players in franchise history to record three rushing TDs and one receiving TD in the same game.
- McCaffrey’s three goals in the first half of a game marked the first time in his career that he had scored three or more goals in the first half.
- This was also McCaffrey’s 12th career game with at least one rushing and one receiving TD, which is tied for the second-most all-time (Marshall Faulk is No. 1 with 15 games).
- With 177 yards from scrimmage and four TDs, McCaffrey is the first player in 49ers franchise history to reach 100 or more yards from scrimmage and one TD in each game in Weeks 1-4, and is the first NFL player to accomplish this feat since former Dallas Cowboys RB DeMarco Murray in 2014.
- McCaffrey is also the eighth NFL player to accomplish this feat since at least 1970 (RB Marco Murray, Cowboys – 2014; RB Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs – 2013; RB Ricky Williams, Miami Dolphins – 2002; RB Emmitt Smith, Cowboys – 1995). ; RB Billy Sims, Detroit Lions – 1981; RB OJ Simpson, Buffalo Bills – 1975; RB Ron Johnson, New York Giants – 1970).
- McCaffrey He also became one of four NFL players in the Super Bowl Era to post 70 or more receiving yards, three or more TDs, and 70 or more receiving yards and one or more receiving TDs in the same game.
- The three rushing TDs gave him to McCaffrey Six per season and 44 in his career. His four TD games against the Cardinals marked his 10th straight regular season game with one or more TDs, the longest streak of his career and the second-most consecutive regular season games with one or more TDs by a 49ers player since a wide receiver. Jerry Rice [13 games (Week 16, 1986 – Week 16, 1987)].
- Including the postseason, McCaffrey has scored one or more TDs in 13 straight games, the longest active streak of any NFL player and the longest streak by a member of the 49ers in franchise history.
- McCaffrey’s 13 consecutive games with a TD also ties former NFL RBs Arian Foster and Emmitt Smith for the second-most consecutive games with one or more TDs in the NFL since at least 1990.
- With a 65-yard rushing TD Week 1 at the Pittsburgh Steelers, a 14-yard rushing TD Week 2 at the Los Angeles Rams, a 4-yard rushing TD Week 3 vs. the New York Giants and 1-yard, 18-yard, and 2-yard rushing TDs vs. Arizona, McCaffrey became the 49ers’ first RB. Scores one or more TDs in Weeks 1-4 in franchise history.
- McCaffrey also became the first NFL RB to record one or more rushing TDs in Weeks 1-4 since then-Minnesota Vikings RB Dalvin Cook did so in 2020.
They don’t call it Run CMC for nothing.
Those who had doubts about the 49ers trading McCaffrey last season have certainly been quiet with the All-Pro passing through the league.
But as impressive as all of these accomplishments are, there’s only one thing on McCaffrey and the rest of San Francisco’s mind: a Super Bowl win.
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