SANTA CLARA — Christian McCaffrey rarely has been taken off the field since returning from an eight-game absence due to bilateral Achilles tendinitis, which the 49ers running back shared is not his decision.
“I think that’s a narrative that kind of goes on,” McCaffrey said Wednesday. “If I feel like I can’t be my best out there, I’ll come off the field. I don’t handle my own snaps is the short answer. If I’m out there, I’m full speed and I’m ready to go.”
Since the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year's return in Week 9, his backup Jordan Mason has registered six carries for 26 yards, and rookie Isaac Guerendo has run only once for no gain. In Weeks 1 through 8, Mason was dominating the line of scrimmage with 134 carries for 685 yards for a 5.1-yard average.
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Kyle Shanahan, who is known for going with the hot hand, provided a little more explanation as to why both Mason and Guerendo have not been on the field much since McCaffrey’s return.
“Even when Mason was going a ton, we didn't get Isaac a lot,” the 49ers coach said Wednesday. “We're not just a big three-man-rotation team, especially when you have a solidified starter. We're not trying to get Christian off the field more.
“We want to keep him fresh and keep him at his best, but Christian's also a guy who gets better as he goes. He's a guy who feels a lot more comfortable being out there.”
In his three games back, McCaffrey has carried the ball 43 times for 149 yards and a 3.47-yard average per carry. He also has caught 13 of his 16 targets for 132 yards. Maybe the biggest difference between this season’s games from McCaffrey's 2023 campaign, however, is his lack of touchdowns.
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The star ball-carrier has yet to get into the end zone after tallying 21 regular-season all-purpose touchdowns in 2023. There only were three games where McCaffrey didn’t hit pay dirt in his OPOY campaign.
"I think there probably would be a lot more shared if it weren’t for some of the positions that our offense has gotten ourselves into these past couple of weeks,” McCaffrey said. “That’s why I think narratives and board statements can always be argued when you look at the tape and why situations are happening.”
The 49ers also have been playing from behind frequently, which limits runs and thus limits the rotation of offensive players on the field.
“I also don't think the way these games have gone, we didn't run the ball much last week at all in general,” Shanahan said. “I think we got 14 runs. So when that's the case, you're not going on long drives, you only have 13 plays or 14 plays in the whole first half with one of them being close to a two-minute drive, the other's being four-and-out. It's just not going to work out that way.”
The 49ers might be forced to use the run game more often when they face off with the Buffalo Bills on NBC's "Sunday Night Football." The temperatures, wind and possible snow flurries could make the passing game even more difficult than normal.