49ers should be vigilant about running Christian McCaffrey into the ground
Just because Christian McCaffrey can do it all doesn’t mean the San Francisco 49ers should let him.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan appears to have learned his lesson following the team’s 30-23 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in which McCaffrey played all 57 offensive snaps for the 49ers, including 20 carries and three receptions, stating that he regretted not getting backup Elijah Mitchell into the game at all.
“That wasn’t the plan going in,” Shanahan told reporters. “It just ended up that way. I got to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
While Shanahan should be taken at his word that it was just a simple error, it’s also easy to see how difficult it is to take McCaffrey out of the game when he’s dominating the way he has through the first two weeks of the season.
The 27-year-old leads all running backs in yards from scrimmage (304), rushing yards (268), yards after contact (224) and missed tackles forced (12), per Pro Football Focus. He also ranks second in touchdowns (two) and first downs via run (11), and his 6.4 yards per carry ranks fifth among RBs with 10 or more rushing attempts.
McCaffrey also leads the league in carries (42) and snaps played on rushing downs (54), and he’s currently on pace to play the second-most offensive snaps (978) of his career. Additionally, he’s played 100% of his team’s offensive snaps 15 times since his rookie year in 2017. Over that span, all other running backs have done so just 10 times combined.
"I think it's all dependent on how the game's going," McCaffrey said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. "We had a lot of breaks last game. Sometimes, that's just how it goes. There's going to be games, too, where Mitchell gets four or five carries in a row on multiple drives because he's playing well, and he's feeling it, and I'll be out. It's really such a situational thing.”
Through two weeks, McCaffrey has been on the field for 112 offensive snaps to Mitchell’s 10, and while he may be fine with getting the lion’s share of touches for now, it’s incumbent upon Shanahan to protect his star running back from himself.
Sure, Shanahan may be enticed to keep the hot hand on the field, especially against a division foe like the Rams on Sunday. But given McCaffrey’s extensive injury history — one that includes two ankle injuries plus shoulder, thigh and hamstring issues that’s forced him to miss 23 games since 2020 — Shanahan could be playing with fire.
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