Christian McCaffrey returns from his long journey to a typically huge workload in 49ers victory

For Christian McCaffrey, it was an arduous road back from the Achilles injury that kept him out for the first eight games of the season.

"I’m just happy I’m here," McCaffrey said after the San Francisco 49ers' 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

"That was a long journey and a lot of long days, so it feels good to win and it feels good to just play in a football game again."

But the 49ers' heavy usage of McCaffrey made it seem like he had never even been away. 

McCaffrey was on the field for 56 of San Francisco's 64 offensive snaps in the searing Tampa heat. Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo, who had filled the void in his absence, played just three snaps each.

The reigning Offensive Player of the Year went for 107 yards from scrimmage, but averaged just three yards per carry as he went for 39 yards on the ground.

Despite his underwhelming rushing numbers, McCaffrey was pleased with how he came out of the game.

"I feel good. I feel pretty good," added McCaffrey. "I thought I was going to be more sore but, we’ll see how I feel tomorrow. I never like saying anything until you wake up."

On defense, Nick Bosa still played 85 percent of the snaps despite dealing with a hip pointer he suffered in Wednesday's practice.

The 49er defensive front wasn't able to get Yetur Gross-Matos back from a knee injury to face the Bucs despite him having his practice window opened last week. They would greatly benefit from his return to lessen some of the strain on Bosa.

Leonard Floyd played 41 of 61 snaps at the opposite defensive end spot while backup Sam Okuayinonu played 36. Robert Beal Jr. was on the field for eight defensive snaps.

The 49ers have more ability rotate at defensive tackle, with four players on the field for double-digit snaps, though Maliek Collins (44) and Jordan Elliott (32) took the bulk. Khalil Davis, acquired in a trade from the Houston Texans last Tuesday, played only five defensive snaps.