The Rams didn’t see it coming.
Sunday marked the 10th day of Christian McCaffrey’s tenure with the 49ers, but coach Kyle Shanahan busted out a fancy wrinkle for him in the second quarter of the contest against the Rams.
McCaffrey hauled in a lateral screen from Jimmy Garoppolo on the right side of the field before heaving a pass down to a wide-open Brandon Aiyuk for a 34-yard touchdown to help even the game’s score.
It marked just the fourth pass attempt of McCaffrey’s career and his first since 2019. It was also McCaffrey’s second career touchdown pass, as he tossed a 50-yard touchdown for the Carolina Panthers in 2018.
In the process, CMC accomplished something that Jimmy Garoppolo hasn't done the past three seasons -- throw a touchdown pass at least 30 yards downfield. Josh Dubow of the Associated Press shared more context:
Shanahan said that McCaffrey had no playbook restrictions entering the game after he wasn't prepared for third-down plays and two-minute drills in his 49ers debut last week. Without Deebo Samuel, who was out with a hamstring injury, McCaffrey was heavily featured in the 49ers offense to start the game.
CMC is known as one of the game’s best double threats and caused the defense to bite hard when he got the ball, but for Sunday, he proved he can actually be a triple threat.
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