Niners Nation on Christian McCaffrey

Article49ers in review: The honeymoon phase with Eddy Pineiro is over
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An alarming increase in usage One of the more impressive things about the 49ers' 30.8 points per game over the first five games of the season was how well-managed Christian McCaffrey touches have been. In 2025, Christian McCaffrey was the 49ers' offense. He finished with a league-high 413 touches in what was his highest-usage season since 2019... But Monday night saw McCaffrey's most active game of the season... McCaffrey got nine more touches on 19 second-half plays, a whopping 47 percent of the 49ers' offense. McCaffrey returned the favor in usage with a pair of touchdowns, but he finished with a season-high 25 touches to do so.
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McCaffrey's usage spiked to 25 touches as injuries force Shanahan to lean heavier on the star back.

McCaffrey's usage spiked to season-high 25 touches on Monday night (47% of second-half plays) as injuries to Deebo Samuel and Mike Evans forced Kyle Shanahan to lean heavier on the star back. Through the first five games, McCaffrey had more games with fewer than 20 touches than he did all of 2025 (when he averaged just under 25 touches per game across 13 of 17 games); the trend reversed sharply as offensive weapons diminished, raising durability concerns as Shanahan may be forced to approach 2025 usage levels.

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