SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan insinuated he wanted Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons to be a big night for running back Christian McCaffrey.
On Saturday, Shanahan challenged his team to get 40 carries against the Falcons, a number that would signify the Niners controlled the line of scrimmage and handed the ball to McCaffrey early and often.
Tight end George Kittle, making his return from a right hamstring injury that caused him to miss five games, was less subtle.
“Every Saturday night, our tight end coach [Brian] Fleury wants all the tight ends to get up in front of the room and set a goal,” Kittle said. “Anywhere from dominate the edges, tight end touchdown, whatever goals. And my goal this week was CMC [to be] NFC Player of the Week. And if I actually called that, that might be the best guess of all time.”
After the 49ers had put the finishing touches on a 20-10 win to improve to 5-2, Kittle’s goal looked exceedingly realistic. McCaffrey, who has remained the focal point of the Niners’ offense despite the unit’s injury woes, had his finest performance in a season full of them.
By the time McCaffrey was through, he had posted a season-high 129 rushing yards on 24 carries with 2 rushing touchdowns. He also led the Niners in receiving with seven catches for 72 yards, including a 17-yard grab on third-and-13 before his game-sealing 4-yard touchdown run.
His 201 scrimmage yards were the most by McCaffrey as a Niner and accounted for 62% of the team’s yards from scrimmage, the highest percentage for any player in a game this season. And though the 49ers finished one shy of Shanahan’s goal of 40 carries, they accumulated a season-high 174 rushing yards on 39 attempts, an average of 4.5 yards per carry, also a season high.
McCaffrey continued to etch his name in the franchise and league record books for all-purpose production.
Through Sunday night’s games, McCaffrey leads the NFL in scrimmage yards (981), and his six total touchdowns is tied for fourth most. Despite the run game struggling mightily through the first six games, McCaffrey is on pace to have over 1,000 yards each rushing and receiving, and, at his current rate, he would surpass the NFL record of 1,097 receiving yards by a running back in a season with room to spare.
“He’s huge,” Shanahan said. “He’s the most consistent player I’ve been around. He just allows you to stay on track. He gets every yard in the run game and more and what he does in the pass game … it’s rare that you’re going to throw a ball to him and not get a completion.”
After another do-it-all performance, McCaffrey quickly credited his teammates. It was no coincidence that the 49ers’ run game took off upon Kittle’s return. McCaffrey had 20 rushes for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns when Kittle was on the field, compared with four rushes for 3 yards when he was not.
Although Kittle’s streak of 114 games with a reception ended, his presence was felt not only as a blocker in the run game but in the attention he drew from defenders. On the third-and-13 completion to help seal the win, 49ers quarterback Mac Jones said he saw multiple Falcons cover Kittle, leaving McCaffrey one-on-one for the easy first down.
“It’s a different ballgame when he’s in there,” McCaffrey said. “Even when he doesn’t have a big statistical game, the attention that he draws opens so much up … When you’ve got guys like that on the field, just their presence alone strikes a lot of fear in coordinators and so you have to keep eyes on them.”
Kittle’s return wasn’t the only emotional pick-me-up for the 49ers. After losing star linebacker Fred Warner (right ankle surgery) for the season, the Niners spent the week answering questions about how the defense would fare without Warner (and star defensive end Nick Bosa, who suffered a torn right ACL in Week 3).
Niners linebacker Dee Winters arrived at the game wearing Warner’s No. 54 jersey, multiple players warmed up wearing a shirt with Warner’s face on it, and Warner received a loud ovation pregame when he made his way onto the field with the help of a scooter. During the game, Warner was shown holding his young son in a suite and it drew cheers so loud that Kittle joked the Niners’ offense almost had to go to a silent count on that play.
Perhaps nobody was more inspired by Warner’s absence than his replacement, second-year linebacker Tatum Bethune. Bethune said he cried before the game, not just because Warner was out, but for the chance to prove to doubters that the 49ers’ defense can still slow down opponents.
For the second week in a row, Bethune finished with 10 tackles, leading a Niners defense that held Atlanta to 292 yards on 4.9 yards per play, including a season-low 62 rushing yards.
“I saw all of it and as a defense we didn’t talk about it, but I felt a certain way about it,” Bethune said. “I was emotional before the game. … It’s unfortunate that Fred got hurt, but it’s also an opportunity for me to be able to expand and get better while I can before he gets back.”
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