The 49ers were coy about their plans for running back Christian McCaffrey ahead of Sunday’s game against the Chiefs, but they wound up finding a role for him a couple of days after he joined the team in a trade with the Panthers.
McCaffrey played 22 of the team’s 79 offensive snaps and picked up 62 yards from scrimmage on 10 touches in the 44-23 loss to Kansas City. After the game, McCaffrey said he didn’t want to “sit there and make excuses” for not producing more for his new team but acknowledged that the trade made for a strange few days for everyone involved.
“This was a weird week for me and for them,” McCaffrey said, via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com. “I didn’t kind of know what to expect. I know that I had a certain list of plays that were up and I think for me mentally this was just focus on everything I can, control what I can control and get rolling. Obviously, losing is frustrating, but I’m still getting to know these guys. I’ve got to do my job. I’ve got to make a few more plays here.”
McCaffrey may not have done as much as he hoped in his 49ers debut, but he was hardly at the front of the list of players to shoulder blame for the lopsided loss. If all goes well, they’ll avoid too many more defeats like that one over the rest of McCaffrey’s time on their roster.