According to Tony Holzman-Escareno of the NFL, there have only been five instances in history where a team had both the NFL's rushing leader and the top scoring defense in the league. Those happened within just a two-decade span from 1944 to 1962. The San Francisco 49ers are on pace to become the sixth team to accomplish that feat in over 60 years with Christian McCaffrey and their No. 1 scoring defense so far.
McCaffrey is currently the NFL's rushing leader with 1,177 yards, outrunning the competition by over 300 yards. Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry is at No. 2 at 841 rushing yards.
The 49ers also have the best scoring defense in the league, holding opponents to just 15.8 points per game on the season, and that is in large part due to their stellar defense led by Nick Bosa and Chase Young.
The five other instances included HOF Jim Taylor (1962 Green Bay Packers), HOF Jim Brown (1957 Cleveland Browns), HOF Steve Van Buren (1949 Philadelphia Eagles), HOF Bill Dudley (1946 Pittsburgh Steelers), and Bill Paschal (1944 New York Giants). Only the 1949 Eagles and the 1962 Packers went on to win the NFL Championship.
McCaffrey further added onto his lead in the rushing yards department after recording 145 yards in the 49ers' 28-16 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. This included an insane 72-yard run that put San Francisco on their five-yard line on the very first play of the game. The 49ers wound up scoring on that drive after Jordan Mason rushed into the end zone on a three-yard dash.
OMG CMC!!!!!!
📺: #SEAvsSF on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/pWMED8SAQa pic.twitter.com/M65vbjDuiR— NFL (@NFL) December 10, 2023
While Brock Purdy has been getting a lot of the spotlight as of late with his MVP-level play, Christian McCaffrey and the 49ers' defense is a huge reason why San Francisco is the favorite to win the Super Bowl this season.
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