Christian McCaffrey a difference maker as 49ers bolt past NFC West rival Rams
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Nine days ago, the Los Angeles Rams lost out on the Christian McCaffrey sweepstakes to their NFC West rivals, the San Francisco 49ers securing the services of the talent runner in a trade with the Carolina Panthers.
On Sunday, the Rams got an up-close look at what McCaffrey looks like leading San Francisco's offense.
It wasn't pretty.
The Rams had struggled to contain do-everything receiver Deebo Samuel in previous matchups against San Francisco. But with Samuel nursing a sore hamstring, the 49ers turned to the team's new addition in McCaffrey.
While still learning a new offense, the Stanford product proved more than capable of picking up the slack with Samuel out, finishing with 183 all-purpose yards. McCaffrey recorded a 9-yard receiving touchdown, a 1-yard run for a score and threw a 34-yard touchdown in a 31-14 San Francisco win over the Rams at SoFi Stadium.
McCaffrey joined elite company with the accomplishment, becoming just the third running back with a passing, rushing and receiving touchdown in a single game since 1970 (Walter Payton and LaDainian Tomlinson the others).
With the win, San Francisco crept back to the .500 mark at 4-4 heading into the bye week, while Los Angeles dropped to 3-4 on the year, a half-game ahead of the NFC West cellar-dwellers in the Arizona Cardinals (3-5).
"Going into the bye week 3-5 makes it a lot more depressing of a bye week," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said about his team's victory. "I'm very aware of the record and 4-4 is just one game better, but it feels a hell of a lot better than 3-5."
The 49ers also improved to 3-0 in the NFC West and have defeated the Rams eight straight times during the regular season. Los Angeles led 14-10 at halftime but was outscored 21-0 in the second half.
The Rams were aware of how McCaffrey could take over a game. Just a few weeks ago before the trade, McCaffrey totaled 158 scrimmage yards in a 24-10 Rams' win for the Rams over McCaffrey's then-Panthers in Week 6.
McCaffrey finished with 62 yards from scrimmage in his first game action for San Francisco last week, a 44-23 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. But with a week to prepare, Shanahan said during game planning on Thursday he decided to install a double pass for McCaffrey once tight ends coach Brian Fleury sent him a clip of him throwing.
Shanahan set the play up by throwing McCaffrey a screen pass earlier in the game. Shanahan said the Panthers also threw a bunch of screens to McCaffrey in the earlier game against the Rams.
McCaffrey said he and his younger brother both play quarterback, so he just followed some simple advice in completing his touchdown to receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
"You got to get loose and get the elbow up," McCaffrey said, smiling. "And it helps when someone is wide open as well."
On McCaffrey's touchdown catch, Jimmy Garoppolo said he was No. 5 on the progression. However, with the pocket breaking down, Garoppolo moved to buy some time, McCaffrey turned his flat route up the sideline and the quarterback floated a pass to the back of the end zone that McCaffrey went up high for the score.
Coming off the bye week, the Rams were efficient on offense, using the screen and play-action game to create chunk plays and take the early lead.
However, San Francisco clamped down on L.A.'s screens and the running game, making them one-dimensional on offense, which allowed Nick Bosa and the rest of San Francisco's defensive front to get pressure on Matthew Stafford.
And the Rams also didn't make game-changing plays, including a dropped interception by Jalen Ramsey and a drop by tight end Tyler Higbee on third down that may have gone for a score had he held onto it.
"They outplayed us in the second half," Rams head coach Sean McVay said. "We didn't make enough plays, and there's things that we can do collectively to be a better part it."
That said, the Super Bowl champs are in a bad spot, chasing a team they struggle to beat consistently in San Francisco and the NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks (5-3). McCaffrey is only going to get better, having been with the 49ers for less than two weeks. And San Francisco played without the team's best player in Samuel.
The 49ers understand that better days are ahead as they get healthier in the second half of the season, but the addition of McCaffrey makes them a more dangerous team the rest of the way.
"Deebo's decent still, right?" San Francisco tight end George Kittle said. "There's a lot of guys in this offense that can move the ball. We have a lot of guys that can get YAC. We have a lot of guys that can get open and our offensive line was clicking, especially in the running game. … Overall, we just played at a really high level and everybody played together."
Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.
