Christian McCaffrey aims to return from injury in Week 10 against the Buccaneers, and he has some noteworthy goals to reach in the game.
The San Francisco 49ers are about to get a tremendous boost to their offense for the second half of 2024 with the imminent return of the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey.
McCaffrey, who missed the first half of the season with Achilles tendinitis, is poised to return for the Niners' Week 10 road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
While McCaffrey's gameday status won't be fully official until after San Francisco announces its inactives 90 minutes prior to kickoff (he still has to be removed from injured reserve as of this writing), all signs point to him actually playing on Sunday.
Assuming there are no setbacks, McCaffrey can hit some pretty lofty benchmarks in the game that would put him into some rare Hall of Fame-level company.
Christian McCaffrey can cement Hall of Fame legacy in Week 10
McCaffrey is already in elite company, as he's one of only three players in NFL history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in a season while recording another 1,000 yards receiving. The only other two include 49ers legend Roger Craig and Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk.
Yet McCaffrey can cement his name into the record books upon his debut with a few easy-to-reach accolades.
With just one receiving touchdown against the Bucs, McCaffrey will join both Faulk and Hall of Famer Lenny Moore as the three players with at least 50 rushing touchdowns and 30 touchdown catches.
Player | Team(s) | Rushing TDs | Receiving TDs |
|---|---|---|---|
Marshall Faulk* | Rams, Colts | 100 | 36 |
Lenny Moore* | Colts | 63 | 48 |
Christian McCaffrey | Panthers, 49ers | 52 | 29 |
* denotes Hall of Fame player
But that's not the only accolade McCaffrey could hit in the game.
If McCaffrey winds up recording both a touchdown run and touchdown reception in the contest, he'll own the NFL record for most games with such an achievement, passing Faulk (15) on the all-time list.
Player | Team(s) | Games with both a rushing TD and a receiving TD |
|---|---|---|
Marshall Faulk* | Rams, Colts | 15 |
Christian McCaffrey | Panthers, 49ers | 15 |
Lenny Moore* | Colts | 12 |
Brian Westbrook | Eagles | 12 |
McCaffrey, who led the league in all-purpose yards in 2023 with 2,023, was denied the chance of climbing the record books for the first half of this season because of his injury.
So, while San Francisco is eager to have him back on the field fully healthy, there'll be more than just McCaffrey's offensive impact to watch on Sunday.
On top of that, the All-Pro will have a chance to cement a Hall of Fame legacy with such a performance.
Accolades and data provided by NFL Communications.