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49ers' Christian McCaffrey joins elite company of RBs with Super Bowl appearance
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

The San Francisco 49ers trading for Christian McCaffrey last season could be one of their best trades in recent memory. They truly got one of the best players in the league; forget one of the best on offense. And he is a huge reason the 49ers are going to the Super Bowl for the second time in five years.

The 49ers' offense was able to be taken to the next level because of the versatility that CMC has brought to the table. There is a reason he is up for the MVP award along with his teammate, Brock Purdy, and the Offensive Player of the Year Award, which he could very well win.

On Sunday, when the final whistle blew after an amazing comeback win over the Detroit Lions, McCaffrey joined an elite group of running backs and will do something that only three other players have ever done.

CMC is the fourth player who went to the Super Bowl with 2,000 plus scrimmage yards and 20 plus touchdowns. The other three are Marshall Faulk, Emmitt Smith, and Terrell Davis. Smith and Davis won the Super Bowl they played in as well.

This was a career year for CMC, who finished with a career-high in rushing yards with nearly 1,500, 14 rushing touchdowns, and seven receiving touchdowns. You could probably make the case that CMC was the best player in football this year, but we all know the narrative that the MVP award is a QB award.

If we know CMC, he would rather have the hardware being played for on February 11 rather than the MVP, anyway. And, who knows, he could win Super Bowl MVP.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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