Christian McCaffrey is a well-oiled machine on the football field, and the 49ers' star running back proved exactly that during San Francisco's 31-13 Thanksgiving feast on the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.
McCaffrey's robotic-like abilities went from a figurative saying to a literal incident on the sideline in the second quarter Thursday night when the NBC broadcast showed McCaffrey undergoing helmet surgery.
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The shot of McCaffrey immediately went viral on social media, and after the game, he explained what happened.
"The back of [the helmet] broke," McCaffrey said. "So, they had to go in and get a new one. I guess they keep two helmets -- I didn't know that. So, they were making sure the chin strap fit on the second helmet. So, that was the second helmet while the EQ guys came in and were fixing the first helmet.
"So, luckily I got the first helmet back and I only had to play one drive with the second helmet."
It was the perfect opportunity for the "Christian McCaffrey is a robot" memes to overflow the football world. Robot, machine and AI were some of the terms that fans used to describe McCaffrey and the viral moment, but the All-Pro shared a unique reference of his own.
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"Frankenstein," he said. "I felt like Frankenstein."
McCaffrey went off for 114 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries in the win. The 49ers hope his robotics and heroics will keep their momentum going all the way to the Super Bowl.