SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Through insinuation, San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan wanted Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons to be a big night for running back Christian McCaffrey.
On Saturday, Shanahan challenged his team to get 40 carries against the Falcons, a number that would signify the Niners controlled the line of scrimmage and handed it to McCaffrey early and often.
Tight end George Kittle, making his return from a right hamstring injury that caused him to miss five games, was less subtle.
«Every Saturday night, our tight end coach [Brian] Fleury wants all the tight ends to get up in front of the room and set a goal,» Kittle said. «Anywhere from dominate the edges, tight end touchdown, whatever goals. And my goal this week was CMC [to be] NFC Player of the Week. And if I actually called that, that might be the best guess of all time.»
After the 49ers had put the finishing touches on a 20-10 win to improve to 5-2, Kittle's goal looked exceedingly realistic, if not likely. McCaffrey, who has remained the focal point of the Niners offense despite seemingly non-stop injuries surrounding him, had his finest performance in a season full of them.
By the time McCaffrey was through, he'd posted a season-high 129 rushing yards on 24 carries with two touchdowns on the ground. He also led the Niners in receiving with seven catches for 72 yards, including a 17-yard grab on third-and-13 before his game-sealing 4-yard touchdown run.
Those 201 scrimmage yards were the most by McCaffrey as a Niner and accounted for 62% of the team's yards from scrimmage, the highest percentage for any player in a game this season. And while the 49ers didn't quite get to 40 rushes on the night, they did get to 39 for a season-high 174
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