Christian

McCaffrey

Denver’s defense focused on slowing down McCaffrey and the Niners’ run game. That forced Brock Purdy and the offense into a more pass-heavy approach. CMC surprisingly was not all that involved in the passing attack against a Broncos defense that has been generous to pass catchers out of the backfield this season. He saved his fantasy day with a goal line plunge in the second half. Kaelon Black, meanwhile, saw six carries on the day. McCaffrey will be a top-5 option in Week 5 against the Seahawks.

Juszczyk suffered what looked to be a serious knee injury in the fourth quarter and didn’t return to the game after being helped off the field. He would constitute an outsized loss for Kyle Shanahan’s offense, particularly his run game designs. A long-term absence for the trusted Shanny fullback could be something of a blow for Christian McCaffrey’s weekly prospects.

McCaffrey continued to run as the engine of the 49ers’ offense, turning 19 touches into 116 yards. He carried the ball frequently after the 49ers went up big in the first half and was a key receiver when the Cardinals attempted to stage a late-game comeback. McCaffrey scored his touchdown by jumping over a pile for a fourth-quarter goal-line score. He followed that up with a one-handed catch to keep a key drive alive late in the game. Though LT Trent Williams left with injury, McCaffrey is a big enough part of the receiving game to overcome any rushing inefficiency. He continues to be a fantasy RB1 for Week 4 against the Broncos.

It was not an efficient day for the 49ers’ running backs, but Brock Purdy dissected the Dolphins enough that McCaffrey was set up for a couple of easy touchdown runs. His longest rush of the day was just five yards, so the team will be looking to get that sorted out ahead of Week 3’s game against the Cardinals. The positive news is that McCaffrey didn’t really split time with Kaelon Black as much before the end of the game. He remains a locked-in RB1.

McCaffrey and Williams were listed as DNP simply for rest, while Bosa had a rest/knee designation and Greenlaw had a rest/Achilles designation. This is notable as the 49ers have several key veterans who have dealt with injuries throughout their career and practice reps will be managed for these players, especially coming off a Week 1 in Australia. McCaffrey reportedly dealt with cramps in the 49ers’ Week 1 win over the Rams; though he is not injured, his experiences with Achilles tendinitis will certainly lend to rest days throughout the season. We expect the 49ers to continue to rest veterans in practice throughout the season in an effort to remain healthy.

McCaffrey’s usage was a bit underwhelming in the first half of Thursday’s win. The 30-year-old running back played on 20 offensive snaps to Kaelon Black’s, while Black’s seven rush attempts more than doubled the three carries we saw from CMC, who also saw six first-half targets. McCaffrey’s second-half usage saw a slight uptick, but it’s possible some of what we saw as it pertains to last night’s split was related to this cramping issue. McCaffrey was undoubtedly the more efficient of the two Niners backs in last night’s win, but Black was solid in his debut, rushing 14 times for 65 yards. McCaffrey should be positioned for a big Week 2 game next week against the Dolphins.

The man they call CMC was not a big part of the first-half attack, but saw plenty more touches over the final two quarters to turn what was looking like an ugly fantasy debut into a decent — although far from spectacular — outing for the 30-year-old veteran. It’s worth noting that Kaelon Black received 14 carries in the contest for 68 yards, and it’s likely that Black is going to be involved going forward in at least a somewhat similar capacity. McCaffrey should still get plenty of touches going forward, and should have a good day against the Dolphins in Week 2.

While most of us were asleep on Sunday night, the 49ers were already conducting a Monday afternoon practice in Australia. According to NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco, McCaffrey was not seen taking part in drills during the early portion of practice. It’s possible this is by design as the Niners prepare for their season opener on Thursday against the Rams, so we won’t read too much into this just yet. McCaffrey missed some time during training camp due to “tightness,” but seemingly downplayed any idea of an injury when he later said the time off during camp was “the plan from the jump.” This is something to keep an eye on in the coming days, but for now, we’ll assume McCaffrey will be good to go for the season opener. According to Maiocco, DE Nick Bosa was also not spotted during the early portion of practice on Monday.

The most important takeaway is that McCaffrey has resumed practicing. Whether the planned aspect is true or not is secondary. That said, one wonders why the team chose to say their star running back was sidelined by “tightness,” rather than simply telling reporters he was taking veteran rest days, which is quite common for a 30-year-old player. McCaffrey said the team wanted him to “ramp up pretty big” early on, before taking time off, and later initiating another ramp-up period, “so we’re fresh for the duration.” McCaffrey says he feels “fresh” after taking nearly two weeks off. We would hope so. He’s a locked-in RB1 at this time.

On the same day the Niners saw George Kittle return from his Achilles injury, the team also got back McCaffrey, who had been sidelined since August 10 due to his “tightness.” Assuming he doesn’t miss any more time and we don’t hear anything else about this injury or a new one, McCaffrey appears to be in good shape to be ready in time for the Niners’ Week 1 opener when they take on the Rams in Australia 18 days from now.