49ers' George Kittle had big goal for Christian McCaffrey ahead of win over Falcons

Tight end George Kittle returned to the San Francisco 49ers' lineup on Sunday evening for the first time since he tore his hamstring in Week 1. 

After the 49ers improved to 5-2 on the season via a 20-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons, Kittle revealed that he had a big goal in mind for running back Christian McCaffrey heading into the "Sunday Night Football" contest. 

George Kittle may have made "best guess of all time" about Christian McCaffrey

"Every Saturday night, our tight end coach [Brian Fleury] wants all the tight ends to get up in front of the room and set a goal," Kittle explained, per Nick Wagoner of ESPN. "Anywhere from dominate the edges, tight end touchdown, whatever goals. And my goal this week was CMC [to be] NFC Player of the Week. And if I actually called that, that might be the best guess of all time."

San Francisco starting quarterback Brock Purdy missed his fifth game of the season due to a lingering toe injury, and temporary QB1 Mac Jones had been dealing with issues related to a PCL injury and an oblique problem. Thus, the 49ers understandably leaned on McCaffrey throughout Sunday's encounter. 

McCaffrey embraced that challenge in a big way, as he rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. He also contributed seven receptions for 72 yards.

"He's huge," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said about McCaffrey. "He's the most consistent player I've been around. He just allows you to stay on track. He gets every yard in the run game and more and what he does in the pass game...it's rare that you're going to throw a ball to him and not get a completion."

How 49ers bounced back from devastating loss

49ers star pass-rusher Nick Bosa was already out with a season-ending ACL tear when linebacker Fred Warner, often referred to as "the heart and soul of" the San Francisco defense, went down with a dislocated and broken ankle in the Week 6 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 12. Following Sunday's result, McCaffrey explained how the Niners bounced back from such a devastating blow.

“Our record is a testament to the leadership," McCaffrey said, as shared by Vic Tafur of The Athletic. "I think a guy like Fred or Bosa comes out, and you got young guys who haven’t been in that position step up the way they have, it’s coaching, it’s leadership. And that doesn’t happen everywhere, I can promise you that. And so it’s fun. It’s a fun group to be a part of in that, knowing that every week is going to be a fight, and guys are going to have to step up and do their job and get it done."

The 49ers next play at the Houston Texans on Oct. 26. 2-3 Houston will face the Seattle Seahawks (4-2) at Seattle's Lumen Field on Monday night.