Before Sunday, the 49ers tried to convince the football-following world that new running back Christian McCaffrey would have a limited package of red-zone plays in his debut, only three days after the trade that brought him to Santa Clara from Charlotte.
Some regarded that as a ruse. And it was.
McCaffrey finished with 10 touches, only one of which happened in the red zone. (McCaffrey actually had three times as many touches inside the San Francisco 20 than inside the Kansas City 20.)
He generated 62 yards, with 38 rushing yards on eight tries and 24 receiving yards on two catches. As noted by Peter King in this week’s Football Morning in America, the 6.2 yards per touch exceeds McCaffrey’s career average of 5.8.
He may have gotten even more, if the game ha played out differently. Once the Chiefs extended their lead to 35-23 in the fourth quarter, McCaffrey had the ball in his hands only one more time as the game got away from the 49ers.
McCaffrey got his 10 touches on only 22 offensive plays, 28 percent of the total snaps taken by the 49ers. This suggests that, as his playing time increases, he’ll get a lot more work. Eventually, count on McCaffrey to get at least 20 touches per game. While he wasn’t able to make a difference against the Chiefs, plenty of opportunities remain.
Starting next Sunday against the Rams -- the other team that aggressively pursued a trade for McCaffrey.
