The 49ers made a big splash last week by acquiring running back Christian McCaffrey from the Panthers. Despite only having a few days with the team prior to Sunday’s game, McCaffrey suited up and was effective in limited usage in the blowout loss to the Chiefs.
San Francisco is expecting more out of its offense, especially now with McCaffrey in the fold.
NFL Insider Brian Baldinger of the Audacy Original Podcast “In The Huddle” talked about how the 49ers should use McCaffrey in the offense like Steph Curry.
“He had a really good first quarter,” Baldinger said (25:54 in player above). “They ran a lot of basic plays, two-back sets with (Kyle Juszczyk). He had a number of good runs, a couple of good catches.”
McCaffrey ran for 38 yards on eight carries against the Chiefs, including a 12-yard rush. He caught both of his targets for a total of 24 yards. The 49ers may need to design some plays for McCaffery to make the most of the dynamic running back.
“The one thing about Christian is you got to call plays for him in the passing game. You got to clear out. It’s like clearing out for Steph Curry. Run everybody off, let him work underneath against linebackers and safeties, he’s going to beat them.”
At McCaffrey’s best, he was a 1,000-yard rusher and picked up 1,005 yards receiving in 2019. Since then, he’s dealt with injuries that have limited his playing time.
Nevertheless, the 49ers need to base some plays around McCaffrey’s skills. In fact, the whole offense could use a spark.
“You got to start designing some offense for him,” Baldinger continued. “But I think they got to start designing some offense for other guys because the offense doesn’t look very good.”
The 49ers have scored a total of 37 points over the last two weeks against the Chiefs and Falcons, both losses. They scored 37 and 24 points in wins against Carolina and the Rams the two weeks prior.
Overall, the 49ers have the 13th-lowest points per game (20.7) on the season. A rematch with the Rams in Los Angeles is on tap this week.
Related
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram