When a team loses at home, 26-21, it's hard to find the silver lining. However, the San Francisco 49ers had some notables to be proud of in their first loss of the season.
San Francisco had a pair of veteran linebackers stand out on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Dee Winters and Fred Warner combined for 18 total tackles, and Warner's forced fumble surpassed Hall of Famer Patrick Willis for the most in franchise history.
Yes, quarterback Brock Purdy threw for over 300 yards again, in addition to two more touchdowns. Unfortunately, two more interceptions (four turnovers in total) doomed the Niners.
One player stood out the most for his team: running back Christian McCaffrey.
How Christian McCaffrey is producing without running it in
San Francisco's starting running back already has more rushing yards this season than all of last year. Granted, McCaffrey only played in four games total in 2024 because of injury. This season, he has 19 more carries and 23 more yards than he did at this point and through the same number of games.
On Sunday, McCaffrey also got it done in the air. One of Purdy's two touchdown passes went to the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year winner. And it's quite provocative how McCaffrey has more receiving yards (305) than rushing yards (225) to date.
Even more impressive is how many first downs McCaffrey has been responsible for in the air. Last year, he had just six first downs in four games via pass-catching. During the 49ers' first four games this year, McCaffrey has more than double that (13).
Prior to the Week 4 loss to the Jaguars, McCaffrey averaged 8.53 yards per catch. On Sunday, the running back averaged 15.3 yards per reception. McCaffrey's 92 receiving yards against Jacksonville were a season-high so far, too.
McCaffrey wasn't enough to compensate for San Francisco allowing 17 points in the second quarter, nor could he erase the Niners' four turnovers on Sunday. What he could do is move the chains.
Even though the 49ers are 3-1, they have yet to record a rushing touchdown in 2025. And the Niners weren't aided by the fact Jacksonville left San Francisco with the fourth-lowest average for rushing yards per game allowed. The Jaguars allowed less points than the 49ers before and after Week 4.
Hopefully, McCaffrey can cross the end zone with the football in his hands at some point soon.
Thursday night's game against the Los Angeles Rams would be a good time for that.