SANTA CLARA — Christian McCaffrey’s arrival was the best thing that happened to the 49ers’ offense this regular season. Last month’s Pro Bowl snub might be the best thing going for their postseason.
“There’s a little extra motivation behind that,” tight end George Kittle said, “and I hope Christian plays the rest of the season pissed off, because he’s been pissed off the last four weeks and has been dominant.”
That’s true, on all accounts heading into Saturday’s wild-card playoff opener against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium.
McCaffrey acknowledges he’s “always had a chip on my shoulder,” and it grew not only with the Carolina Panthers unloading him in an October trade, but even more so when three other NFC running backs earned Pro Bowl spots.
“I couldn’t vote for myself, otherwise I would have,” McCaffrey said. “It would have been a nice nod of respect. I’ve just got to go harder.”
Is that possible? The 49ers haven’t lost since he entered the starting lineup, after a get-your-feet-wet role in their Oct. 23 loss to Kansas City. He’s rushed for over 100 yards in three of the past five games. He’s combined for 1,210 yards from scrimmage in his 11 games (110-yard average).
On top of that production is his attractiveness as a decoy. It paid off last month against the Seahawks, who were too busy watching him while Kittle came down with two touchdown catches, a benefit Kittle “fully expected” the instant McCaffrey arrived in coach Kyle Shanahan’s multi-faceted scheme.
“You leave him one-on-one with a linebacker, good luck, he’s going to tear you apart,” Kittle said. “So you’ve got two guys on him. If you pressure at all, you bring in five, your lurker is going to look at Christian McCaffrey, and every other guy on the field has a one-on-one,and that’s Deebo (Samuel), Brandon Aiyuk, me, Kyle Juszczyk. Those are a lot of one-on-ones.”
McCaffrey is going into only his second career playoff game, having had a one-and-done exit his 2017 rookie season with the Panthers.
Unlike most in that position, McCaffrey did not take that appearance for granted and expected a flood more playoff berths. His father, Ed, made the playoffs in six of his 13 NFL seasons as a wide receiver, including as a reserve on the 49ers’ last Super Bowl-winning team back 27 years ago.
“I grew up in this business so I know how tough it is to get here,” McCaffrey added. “And I know what it means to be here and what’s at stake and the urgency that’s needed to win these kinds of games.
“I was thankful we got to the playoffs that year. As a rookie, and obviously everything (from then) is a little foggy, but when we lost, it was extremely disappointing. I haven’t been back since, so it’s good to be here.”
Added Brock Purdy: “He’s a guy that can obviously run the ball, can get the ball out of the backfield with pitches and things and split him out, run a route. He does all these things a defense has to scheme up and try to stop. When you put all that attention on one guy, it opens up guys like George and Deebo and B.A. I love it as a quarterback to have a guy that’s so well-rounded.