Christian McCaffrey made it clear he was special with four touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday in the 49ers’ 35-16 win at Levi’s Stadium.
With 177 all-purpose yards – 106 rushing and 71 receiving yards – and an epic hurdling run in Week 4, the star running back stormed into the NFL’s MVP discussion and delivered a dominant performance that won in more than one year was historical.
To put McCaffrey’s record-breaking day in perspective, here are 13 stats (courtesy of the 49ers) that show the different ways he etched his name in football history and why it was one of the best performances of his NFL career .
- McCaffrey’s 106 yards on the ground marked his 19th career game (including playoffs) with 100 or more rushing yards.
- McCaffrey’s Four TDs mark a career high and the most TDs recorded by a 49ers player in a single game since RB Tevin Coleman in 2019 [four TDs vs. the Carolina Panthers (10/27/19)].
- McCaffrey joined Coleman as one of two players in franchise history to score three rushing TDs and one receiving TD in the same game.
- McCaffrey’s three touchdowns in the game’s first half mark the first time in his career that he has scored three or more touchdowns in a half.
- This was also McCaffrey’s 12th career game with at least one rushing and one receiving TD, tied for the second-most such games ever (Marshall Faulk is No. 1 with 15 games).
- With 177 yards from scrimmage and four TDs, McCaffrey is the first player in 49ers franchise history to record 100 or more yards from scrimmage and a TD in every game from Weeks 1 through 4, and he is the first in the NFL Player who has achieved this feat since Dallas Cowboys RB DeMarco Murray in 2014.
- McCaffrey is also the eighth NFL RB to achieve this feat since at least 1970 (RB DeMarco Murray, Cowboys – 2014; RB Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs – 2013; RB Ricky Williams, Miami Dolphins – 2002; RB Emmitt Smith, Cowboys – 1995). ; RB Billy Sims, Detroit Lions – 1981; RB OJ Simpson, Buffalo Bills – 1975; RB Ron Johnson, New York Giants – 1970).
- McCaffrey He was also one of four NFL players in the Super Bowl era to record 70 or more rushing yards, three or more rushing TDs, 70 or more receiving yards and one or more receiving TDs in the same game.
- McCaffrey’s three rushing TDs give him six this season and 44 in his career. His four TDs against the Cardinals marked his tenth consecutive regular season game with one or more TDs. This is the longest streak of his career and the second-most consecutive regular season games with one or more TDs by a 49ers player since wide receiver Jerry Rice [13 games (Week 16, 1986 – Week 16, 1987)].
- Including the postseason, McCaffrey has scored one or more touchdowns in 13 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak of any NFL player and the longest streak by a member of the 49ers in franchise history.
- McCaffrey’s 13 consecutive games with a TD tied with former NFL RBs Arian Foster and Emmitt Smith for the second-most consecutive games with one or more TDs in the NFL since at least 1990.
- With a 65-yard rushing TD in Week 1 at the Pittsburgh Steelers, a 14-yard rushing TD in Week 2 at the Los Angeles Rams, a 4-yard rushing TD in Week 3 against the New York Giants and a 1-yard, 18-yard TD and 2-yard rushing TDs against Arizona, McCaffrey became the first 49ers RB to score one or more rushing TDs in Weeks 1–4 in franchise history.
- McCaffrey also became the first NFL RB to score one or more rushing TDs in Weeks 1-4 since then-Minnesota Vikings RB Dalvin Cook did so in 2020.
They don’t call it Run CMC for nothing.
Those who had doubts about the 49ers’ move for McCaffrey last season certainly stayed quiet as the All-Pro makes its way around the league.
But while all of these accomplishments are nice, there is only one thing for McCaffrey and the rest of San Francisco: a Super Bowl victory.
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