The San Francisco 49ers had looked to develop a two-headed monster at running back with Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell. They traded for McCaffrey just before the deadline and then got Mitchell back from a knee injury that cost him the first half of the season. Sadly, that might have come to a crashing halt Sunday.

During the third quarter of the 49ers game against the Saints, Mitchell went down with another knee injury. He has been ruled out, per the 49ers.

Since coming off IR, Mitchell had been a surprisingly big part of the 49ers offense. A lot of people thought he would take a back seat to McCaffrey but that had not happened. Late in the 2nd quarter Sunday, he ripped off a long touchdown run that was a thing of beauty. However, it was called back to due a holding penalty on George Kittle.

Prior to leaving the game, Mitchell led the team rushing with 35 yards on seven carries. McCaffrey, on the other hand, has only 17 yards on the same amount of carries. Overall, the Saints have done a good job limiting the 49ers run game. That has forced Jimmy Garoppolo to drop back more than Kyle Shanahan would probably like. He is 24-for-34 for 210 yards and a touchdown pass.

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San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk next to 49ers general manager John Lynch and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. Aiyuk has a speech bubble that says “Fire pick, can’t lie.”

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Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel with blank jerseys and question mark in the middle of both jerseys. NFL Draft logo in the background

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GM John Lynch in the middle, Jordan Morgan, TJ Tampa, Jalyx Hunt around him, and San Francisco 49ers wallpaper in the background

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Late in the 3rd quarter, the 49ers lead 13-0. The defense has carried the day, holding the Saints to just under 200 total yards. San Francisco looks to improve to 7-4 and possibly take the lead in the NFC West.

We will update Elijah Mitchell's status once more information is learned.