Stanford legend Christian McCaffrey has struggled for 49ers since return from injury

CMC has not looked like the CMC of old, but his track record suggests that this season is just another hurdle in his journey to being an all-time great.

Nov 24, 2024; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) is tackled by Green Bay Packers linebacker Quay Walker (7) during the second quarter at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

For a majority of the 2024 NFL season, the San Francisco 49ers have had to adjust to life without star running back Christian McCaffrey, who was sidelined until week 10 with double achilles tendinitis. And during that time frame, the reigning NFC champions struggled, with the unavailability of McCaffrey making the offense look like a shell of itself. When he finally was able to make his return in week 10, the expectation was that he would be able to elevate the offense back to how it was in 2023.

However, since playing in his first game against the Buccaneers, McCaffrey has not looked like himself as he finished the game with 13 carries for 39 yards while struggling to find any real running lanes, only averaging 3.0 yards per carry despite the 49ers narrowly escaping with the last second win. The following week in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks, McCaffrey’s workload increased, with him carrying the ball 19 times for 79 yards, averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Having missed a lengthy amount of time, the first two games were more of a ramp up period for McCaffrey with the idea being that he would be able to regain form in due time.

In the 49ers most recent game against the Green Bay Packers, which resulted in a 38-10 blowout road loss, McCaffrey was expected to take on more of the type of role that he had last season, with the 49ers missing players such as Brock Purdy, hoping to make up for the loss of production and give the team a major spark. But when a team is missing some key players to help you succeed, with star left tackle Trent Williams also out with an injury, it can make the job of the running back a lot harder.

Once again, McCaffrey failed to produce that big breakout game for this season, carrying the ball 11 times for 31 yards, only averaging 2.8 yards per carry and for the third straight game, he was unable to record a touchdown. After the game, McCaffrey now has carried the ball 43 times for 149 yards while averaging 3.5 yards per carry on the season.

But the most notable McCaffrey stat for this year is his lack of touchdowns as in 2023, he not only had 21 total (14 rushing), but he held a streak of 17 straight games with a touchdown that was snapped in November of last year.

Given the circumstances of this 49ers season and the nature of McCaffrey’s early season injury, his struggles may not be too worrisome. But for a guy coming off of the 2023 season that he had and playing for a team that was hoping to make another run, a dominant return for him would have helped rejuvenate the team.

But, the 49ers have been unable to live up to the expectations bestowed upon them prior to the start of the season, making it increasingly likely that McCaffrey and Co. will treat this like a lost season and look ahead to coming back even stronger in 2025.