SANTA CLARA — Within a week after the 49ers saw their season end in the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles, running back Christian McCaffrey met coach Kyle Shanahan for a drink.
“He actually had a second one,” Shanahan said. “He says, ‘Well, I’ve only got four more days left, so I’m going to have a couple for the next four days.’ I’m like, ‘Dude, we just finished up five days ago.’ He gives himself 12 days off and then he is right back to preparing.”
McCaffrey is sitting out the regular-season finale with a calf strain, something he said was “minor” and would be pushed aside if the Rams game had any bearing playoff seeding. He and quarterback Brock Purdy won’t play, and there will likely be others.
Since joining the 49ers on Oct. 20 of last season, McCaffrey has put his myriad talents on display, and if there’s anything missing in his game, no one has yet to find it. He will lead the NFL in rushing with 1,459 yards on 272 carries. The Rams’ Kyren Williams is second with 1,144 yards and will also be rested in the finale.
McCaffrey caught 67 passes for 564 yards, runs routes like a wide receiver and has league-highs with 339 touches, 2,023 yards, 114 first downs and 21 touchdowns. He blocks and carries out every fake as if it’s the last play he’ll ever run.
All of which takes a back seat to the physicality that enables him to thrive. At 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, McCaffrey will take on tacklers as if he were 247-pound Derrick Henry, absorb brutal hits as a receiver and then keep coming back for more. He’s a living, breathing embodiment of the cliche “the best ability is availability.”
More than one teammate has described McCaffrey’s approach and dedication level as “insane.” McCaffrey offered a half-smile Wednesday when told Shanahan relayed the story of him getting loose with an extra drink.
“When you play this position, you need everything you can do to get through the season,” McCaffrey said. “You need to eat the right way and sleep the right way and you can do everything right and you’re still going to have things you’re going to have to play through . . that’s how I’ve always approached my offseasons.”
McCaffrey has been too good to be true since the day he arrived. He got himself ready to play mentally in an entirely new offense in two days and it has been nothing but production ever since. There was some concern when the 49ers shipped second-, third- and fourth-round draft picks from a year ago and a fifth in 2024 to get McCaffrey from Carolina. Turns out he was a bargain.
McCaffrey was the catalyst in the 10-game win streak and a No. 2 seed a year ago, and the centerpiece of this season’s 12-4 record and top seed. One of nine 49ers named to the Pro Bowl, McCaffrey won’t win the Most Valuable Player award — the guess here is Lamar Jackson of Baltimore has that locked up — but the Offensive Player of the Year award is in play.
The way the voting has gone in recent years, the MVP has become the quarterback award, with the OPOY going to a non-quarterback. Quarterbacks have on the last 10 MVPs. The last four OPOY winners went to a non-quarterback — Minnesota wideout Justin Jefferson, Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp, Henry and New Orleans wide receiver Michael Thomas.
Miami’s Tyreek Hill has 112 receptions for 1,717 yards and 12 touchdowns, with Dallas wide receiver CeeDee Lamb making a late surge with 122 receptions, 1,651 and 10 touchdowns. Yet don’t be surprised if McCaffrey is this year’s winner and the fifth 49ers player to win. He would join Jerry Rice (1987 and 1993), Roger Craig (1988), Joe Montana (1989) and Steve Young (1992).
The award won’t be announced Feb. 8 in Las Vegas at the NFL Honors ceremony.
Christian McCaffrey (23) has been bent in just about every direction this season while being the centerpiece of the 49ers’ offense. A.P. Photo
The remarkable thing is McCaffrey picked up steam toward the end of the season rather than showing signs of wear and tear. Before departing with 14 carries for 64 yards and three receptions against Washington, McCaffrey had a run of five games in which he broke 100 yards four times, and the only time he came up short was 93 yards against Philadelphia in Week 13. In a 33-19 loss to Baltimore, McCaffrey played all 70 snaps — the third time this season he hasn’t left the field.
McCaffrey has had the ball between 17 and 27 times in each game through either run or pass, and teammates have marveled at his consistency.
“I’m the guy that just hands the ball to him and just stands back and watch,” quarterback Brock Purdy said earlier this month while endorsing McCaffrey as his MVP. “He’s making cuts, twisting when he’s got guys all over him. I see the beating that he takes, and his grit to continue to drive his legs and get extra yards and inches. Then he goes off to the sideline and he’s using Theraguns and moving his body. We all respect it. He’s the guy that does it all. We look up to his toughness, he sets the standard and we follow his lead.”
And to think there were actually questions as to whether McCaffrey was damaged goods after missing 23 games in 2020 after being used heavily in Carolina in 2018 and 2019.
Upon arrival in Santa Clara, McCaffrey assured Shanahan of two things — he was capable of being a heavy-use, tough-yardage running back in addition to his receiving skills, and that the issues with his hip, ankle and shoulder in Carolina had to do with sudden trauma rather than something chronic and recurring.
“Every time he tells me something it’s true,” Shanahan said.
The rushing title is the first by a 49er since Hall of Famer Joe Perry, who won in 1953 and 1954. As for injuries as a 49er, McCaffrey shakes them off as if they were the first defender to the ball. That’s what he has done to the calf injury that led to his removal against Washington and will keep him out against the Rams.
“I’ve played through worse,” McCaffrey said. “It’s just one of those things with the situation we’re in where caution is probably better.”
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At various times since becoming 49ers head coach in 2017, Shanahan has gotten good production from a number of backs including Carlos Hyde, Matt Breida, Raheem Mostert, Tevin Coleman, Jerick McKinnon, Jeff Wilson Jr., Elijah Mitchell and even a heavy dose of Deebo Samuel in 2021.
The carousel stopped the day McCaffrey arrived. In 27 regular-season games, he has rushed for 2,205 yards, caught passes for 1,028 more and scored 31 touchdowns.
If all goes according to plan, McCaffrey will carry the load all the way through Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.
Then he can meet with Shanahan for a drink or two before starting the process of preparation all over again 12 days later.
