With four touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Christian McCaffrey made it clear he was special in the 49ers’ 35-16 victory at Levi’s Stadium.
The star running back hastened his way into the NFL MVP conversation with 177 all-purpose yards — 106 rushing, 71 receiving — and an epic interception in Week 4, making a dominant show that is historic in more ways than one.
To put McCaffrey’s record-breaking day into perspective, here are 13 statistics (courtesy of the 49ers) that show all the different ways he etched his name in football history and why. 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 rushing yards.
- said McCaffrey four TDs marked a career-high and the most TDs recorded in a game by a 49ers player since RB Tevin Coleman in 2019 [four TDs vs. the Carolina Panthers (10/27/19)].
- McCaffrey joins Coleman as one of two players in franchise history to score three rushing TDs and one receiving TD in the same game.
- McCaffrey’s three TDs in the first half of the game marked the first time in his career that he scored three or more TDs in one half.
- It was also McCaffrey’s 12th career game with at least one rushing and one receiving TD, tied for the second-most games of all time (Marshall Faulk is No. 1 with 15 games).
- With 177 yards from scrimmage and four TDs, McCaffrey became the first player in 49ers franchise history to record 100 or more yards from scrimmage and a TD in each game in Weeks 1-4, and was the first NFL player to achieve the feat ever. Dallas Cowboys RB DeMarco Murray in 2014.
- McCaffrey is also the eighth NFL RB to accomplish the feat since at least 1970 (RB DeMarco 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 also became one of four NFL players in the Super Bowl Era to post 70 or more rushing yards, three or more rushing TDs, 70 or more receiving yards and a or more receiving TDs in the same game.
- He was credited with McCaffrey’s three rushing TDs six in the season and 44 in his career. His four TDs against the Cardinals marked his 10th consecutive regular-season game with one or more TDs, which is the longest streak of his career and the second most consecutive -consecutive regular-season games with one or more TDs by a 49ers player since wide receiver. Jerry Rice [13 games (Week 16, 1986 – Week 16, 1987)].
- Including the postseason, McCaffrey has scored one or more TDs in 13 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak of any player in the NFL and the longest streak by a member of the 49ers in franchise history. .
- McCaffrey’s 13 consecutive games with a TD also tied former NFL RBs Arian Foster and Emmitt Smith for the second-most consecutive games with one or more TDs in the NFL since the most less than 1990.
- With a 65-yard rushing TD Week 1 at the Pittsburgh Steelers, a 14-yard TD Week 2 at the Los Angeles Rams, a 4-yard rushing TD Week 3 against the New York Giants and a 1-yard, 18-yard. and 2-yard rushing TDs against Arizona, McCaffrey became the first 49ers RB to score one or more rushing TDs in Weeks 1-4 in franchise history.
- McCaffrey also became the first NFL RB to score one or more rushing TDs in Weeks 1-4 since then-Minnesota Vikings RB Dalvin Cook did it in 2020.
They don’t call him Run CMC for nothing.
Those who had their doubts about the 49ers’ trade for McCaffrey last season were certainly silenced as the All-Pro ran through the league.
But even if all of these accomplishments were great, there was only one thing on McCaffrey and the rest of San Francisco’s mind: A Super Bowl victory.
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