Kyle Shanahan gives unique praise to 49ers' Christian McCaffrey

Christian McCaffrey is one of the most devastating players in the NFL with the ball in his hands, but so much of his success since his trade to the San Francisco 49ers has surrounded what he does when he doesn't have possession.

A huge part of the appeal of pairing running back McCaffrey with the similarly ultra-versatile wide receiver Deebo Samuel was the strain having both of them on the field could potentially put on defenses.

That potential has been realized, and it was clear for all to see during the 49ers' rout of the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13.

Perhaps the play that exemplified the influence McCaffrey can wield even without the ball came on San Francisco's final touchdown of the 42-19 blowout.

Samuel added the finishing touches to a dominant display, racing into the endzone on a 48-yard tunnel screen. He went untouched for his third score of the game, though that was only the case because of McCaffrey's effort in selling the run fake in the opposite direction.

The threat of McCaffrey pulled the weakside linebacker and the cornerback on the far side of the field away from the playside, ensuring neither had any hope of being able to catch Samuel after the blocking created a chasm for him to get into the open field.