The 49ers are finding ways to win -- thanks to (receiver?) Christian McCaffrey

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- After different physical, grind-it-out triumph against the Los Angeles Rams past week, San Francisco 49ers moving backmost Christian McCaffrey stood astatine a podium with a large grin connected his face.

For a 5th consecutive week, the Niners' tally crippled had struggled to get going and again failed to station a rushing touchdown. McCaffrey's grin was rooted successful 1 eye-opening statistic: The 2025 Niners are the 2nd squad successful the past 90 years to not people a rushing touchdown successful the opening 5 weeks and inactive commencement 4-1 oregon better.

"The triumph is the astir important happening and we don't attraction however we person it," McCaffrey said. "I deliberation everybody and their parent wants the tally crippled to get going a small spot much -- myself included -- but we've conscionable got to support chipping distant and support moving astatine it and get guys backmost and conscionable support pushing and staying with it."

Through the archetypal 5 weeks, McCaffrey is 23rd successful the NFL successful rushing yards per crippled (56.4), 40th successful yards per transportation (3.1), 36th successful yards earlier interaction per unreserved (1.52) and 33rd successful yards aft interaction per unreserved (1.58). Only 5.5% of his 91 rushes person gone for 10-plus yards, which ranks 113th successful the league.

Questions astir the deficiency of accumulation connected the crushed person grown louder by the week with blasted being pointed successful each direction. While determination are aggregate reasons for the Niners' crushed crippled struggles, the simplest mentation mightiness beryllium the champion one: On a squad that has been missing astir of its champion and astir accomplished accomplishment presumption players, McCaffrey is the evident people for opposing antiaircraft coordinators.

The Niners, without choky extremity George Kittle (hamstring), receivers Brandon Aiyuk (knee), Jauan Jennings (ribs, ankle, shoulder) and Ricky Pearsall (knee) for each oregon parts of the season, are much McCaffrey-centric than ever.

Through the archetypal 5 weeks, McCaffrey is getting 47.6% of San Francisco's violative touches, a complaint that would beryllium the highest successful the league for immoderate subordinate since 2022 and is astir 5% higher than his erstwhile precocious successful 2023 (42.9%).

But portion defenses person focused their crippled plans connected slowing McCaffrey connected the crushed and dared the likes of choky ends Jake Tonges and Luke Farrell oregon receivers Kendrick Bourne, Demarcus Robinson and Marquez Valdes-Scantling to bushed them, McCaffrey has inactive recovered a mode to beryllium 1 of the league's astir accordant violative threats.

McCaffrey, whom manager Kyle Shanahan calls the champion receiver astatine moving backmost he's ever seen, ranks archetypal among each players successful yards from scrimmage (669) and touches (130) and has deed triple digits successful scrimmage yards successful each of...