The San Francisco 49ers made full use of Christian McCaffrey in Sunday’s win over the Los Angeles Rams.
McCaffrey became the first player since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2005 to throw for, run for, and catch a touchdown in the same game in a 31-14 win. The pass play was a particular highlight, as McCaffrey took a pitch and then uncorked a perfect 34-yard pass to Brandon Aiyuk.
CMC IS THROWING DIMES. @CMC_22
📺: #SFvsLAR on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/cSiNcKjZJe pic.twitter.com/fr9szOjDsf— NFL (@NFL) October 30, 2022
The play came about quite quickly during the week, apparently. Coach Kyle Shanahan asked his staff on Thursday if McCaffrey had any passing ability. That prompted tight ends coach Brian Fleury to dig up video of a touchdown pass McCaffrey threw in 2018 with the Carolina Panthers, which was enough for Shanahan to put something similar in the playbook.
On Thursday night, Kyle Shanahan said he asked his coaches if anyone knew if Christian McCaffrey could throw.
Tight ends coach Brian Fleury found a clip of McCaffrey throwing his 50-yard touchdown pass in 2018. Boom. The play was put in the game plan.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) October 30, 2022
You can tell why Shanahan coveted McCaffrey so much. The 49ers coach loves versatility, and McCaffrey can do just about anything on offense. If the 49ers were able to come up with this in McCaffrey’s second game — without Deebo Samuel in the lineup — one can only wonder what they have coming once they get healthy and comfortable.
