The San Francisco 49ers earned a 20-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night, and star running back Christian McCaffrey turned in a stellar performance that may have catapulted him into this season’s MVP conversation.
McCaffrey rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns while also collecting seven receptions and 72 receiving yards.
“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,” wrote ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. “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.”
Additionally, the 49ers running back has started to etch his name in franchise and league history in terms of all-time production.
“It was McCaffrey's ninth career game with 100-plus rushing yards and 50-plus receiving yards, tied with Jim Brown and Priest Holmes for the third most in NFL history,” Wagoner wrote.
“McCaffrey joined Roger Craig (1988) as the only 49ers with seven straight games of 100-plus scrimmage yards to open a season.”
McCaffrey has been one of the NFL’s best running backs for a number of years, and 2025 has proven to be another stellar campaign thus far. Through Sunday night’s games, the veteran leads the NFL in scrimmage yards and is on pace to post over 1,000 yards each rushing and receiving. He is also on pace to break the single-season record of 1,097 receiving yards by a running back.
McCaffrey and the 49ers will face the Houston Texans on the road in Week 8.
