Christian McCaffrey's return only hinted at how dangerous 49ers offense can be

Welcome back, Christian McCaffrey.

Last season's Offensive Player of the Year returned to the field for his first game of the 2024 season, helping the San Francisco 49ers get over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10.

The 49ers' offense has seen an alarming number of injuries, highlighted by wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk's season-ending ACL and MCL tears, while McCaffrey's absence leading up to Week 10 was a further detriment.

Additionally, the Niners have been without other offensive weapons for periods of time, including wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Ricky Pearsall.

Coming off a Week 9 bye, San Francisco needed the win, as this is the first time since Week 1 it has been above the .500 mark on the season.

McCaffrey was a big reason why.

Christian McCaffrey (again) revealed he's an offensive difference maker

While 39 yards on 13 carries is not going to make anyone's eyes pop, his six receptions for 68 yards might. That gave him a combined 107 yards of offense in his first game since Super Bowl LVIII.

Of the 49ers' 24 first downs, McCaffrey was responsible for four of them. The Niners' rushing attack was not a major factor, per se, as they only collected 75 yards on the ground. But McCaffrey serving as a go-to safety valve proved even more vital for the offense.

Particularly on one key fourth-quarter throw from quarterback Brock Purdy that landed in McCaffrey's basket:

Purdy recorded a season-high 353 yards through the air, and McCaffrey accounted for just under 20 percent of those.

Purdy only missed once when throwing to McCaffrey. They connected on six of the seven attempts. The third-year quarterback was just 19 for 29 to everyone else.

"Yeah, it’s been awesome," Purdy said of McCaffrey's return to action just prior to Sunday's game. "Just what he brings to the table and really just firing everybody else up around. All of us coming off the Bye week and feeling good and fresh and then you get two-three next to you in the backfield, it’s been awesome.

"Looks great moving around and he’s trending in the right direction. So, we’re excited to see what happens.”

Despite plenty of miscues, notably on special teams, McCaffrey and Purdy's chemistry proved vital in San Francisco surviving its road trip to Florida.

The 49ers' next opponent, the Seattle Seahawks, are giving up an average of 139.4 rushing yards a game, which ranks seventh highest in the league. The next worst is another NFC West rival, the Los Angeles Rams.

With McCaffrey's return, the Niners offense should continue to score more.

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