All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey once again shows once again why he was worth the 2022 midseason trade. He put up 142 total yards offensively — 69 rushing and 73 receiving — on 31 touches against the Seattle Seahawks in the San Francisco 49ers' 17-13 Week 1 victory.
Twenty-seven of those yards came during the fourth quarter when the Niners needed them most. And as San Francisco came away with the win, it moved to 24-8 since acquiring McCaffrey in 2022.
Week 1's big performance comes after McCaffrey found himself being doubted on how he would fair going into this season. In the NFL Top 100, his peers ranked him as the 73rd best player before the start of the regular season. That's a full 70 spots lower than where he was in the previous year's rankings. He also dropped from nine to 48 on ESPN's list. And McCaffrey found himself outside of the top five on the NFL's running back rankings.
In fairness, McCaffrey had only played in four games last season because of injury. It was a complete change of what McCaffrey did in the 2023 season when he was awarded Offensive Player of the Year and was named to the Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro. He led the league in touches, rushing and scrimmage yards, and total offensive touchdowns. But last year, he had 50 carries for 202 yards and 15 catches on 19 targets for 146 yards.
The injuries were something that forced the 49ers hands in trading for running back Brian Robinson Jr. a few weeks ago with the Washington Commanders. Robinson was still able to put up 33 yards on nine carries, but it was still McCaffrey with whom head coach Kyle Shanahan chose to roll.
McCaffrey stayed healthy and as productive as ever in making sure the Niners got the win in Seattle on the first week of the season.
And most importantly, proving the doubters wrong over the course of the game.