Christian McCaffrey was the key man for the San Francisco 49ers in their 20-9 home win to close Week 12 of the NFL against his former team, the Carolina Panthers. Above all, CMC made up for a difficult evening from Brock Purdy.
Panthers @ 49ers: At a glance
- Christian McCaffrey led the way with a touchdown and over 100 yards against his former NFL team.
- The 49ers offense had a difficult night as quarterback Brock Purdy had a very poor first half.
- Bryce Young, on the other hand, came back down to earth after his gala performance from the previous week and made a few critical mistakes.
Panthers @ 49ers: The game report
Christian McCaffrey shone in his first game against the Carolina Panthers, who drafted him eighth overall in the 2017 draft, and secured the preliminary decision with a 12-yard touchdown run at the start of the second half before his own defense did the rest.
The Monday night game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California started off promisingly for the Niners. After McCaffrey had the first five touches of the game alone, quarterback Brock Purdy capped the 15-play drive that lasted more than half of the first quarter (8:43 minutes) with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings for the early lead. Afterwards, however, the offense fell into a hole.
Purdy threw three interceptions in a row, two of them to cornerback Jaycee Horn – but he left the game with a concussion in the first half – and was lucky that the visitors did almost nothing with it. A measly 25-yard field goal by Ryan Fitzgerald was all Carolina had after Purdy’s third pick. The home team struck back a minute before halftime with a 47-yarder from Matt Gay and led 10-3 at halftime.
After the break, the 49ers mostly just relied on McCaffrey and the run game with otherwise short, safe passes from Purdy. The result was the McCaffrey touchdown on the first Niners drive of the second half and a 29-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. In between, the Panthers had their best drive of the game, which Bryce Young capped off with a 29-yard touchdown pass to rookie Tetairoa McMillan at the end of the third quarter.
After that, however, not much happened. Carolina advanced to the 33-yard line once again, but an interception by Ji’Ayir Brown ultimately ended any hopes of a comeback, especially since Fitzgerald missed a 57-yard field goal attempt with around three minutes left.
The 49ers remain within 1.5 games of the Rams in the NFC West, while the Panthers missed the chance to take over first place in the NFC South from the Buccaneers.
Carolina Panthers (6-6) @ San Francisco 49ers (8-4)
Result: 9:20 (0:7, 3:3, 6:7, 0:3) BOXSCORE
Panthers @ 49ers: Key stats
- McCaffrey ran for 89 yards on the ground (TD) and also caught 7 passes for 53 yards. In total, he had 142 scrimmage yards, making it the tenth time he has achieved at least 100 scrimmage yards this season. That’s two fewer than the franchise record he himself set in 2023.
- The 49ers blitzed Young on just 29.4 percent of his dropbacks, according to Next Gen Stats. But the QB only completed 3/8 passes for 14 yards and two interceptions. The bottom line is that the Panthers had a -15.4 EPA against blitz in this game. These were the fourth fewest Expected Points Added against Blitz in a game this season.
- McCaffrey leads the NFL with 81 receptions after Week 12. The last running back to do this after a full season was three-time Niners Super Bowl champion Roger Craig in the 1985 season.
The star of the game: Christian McCaffrey (running back, 49ers)
McCaffrey took the team on his shoulders on a difficult night, especially for Purdy, and paved the way to an important home win. He led the team with 142 scrimmage yards and scored the game-winning touchdown. Rather, it wasn’t necessary to keep this offense alive.
The flop of the game: Bryce Young (quarterback, Panthers)
If the opposing quarterback throws three interceptions and your own quarterback only scores three points, then that was simply not enough. This is especially true if said QB threw for 448 yards the previous week. Young took a step back after last week’s gala and made too many mistakes. The biggest: the interception after Purdy’s first pick at the opponent’s 1-yard line. This offense depends on Young’s fluctuations in form, which was the problem this time.
The highlight of the game
The Panthers could have tied the game early in the game, right after Purdy’s first interception. But Ji’Ayir Brown had other plans and made that interception in the end zone that preserved the 49ers’ lead. Perhaps the most important play in the game.