For the 49ers, not having running back Christian McCaffrey on hand for Week 1’s game against the Jets turned out to be not much of a problem. Backup Jordan Mason ran wild on the Jets, tallying 147 yards on 28 carries, with a touchdown, pacing a dominating 32-19 win for San Francisco.
There was some controversy, of course, about when the 49ers knew that McCaffrey (out with a calf injury) was not going to play in opener—Mason said immediately after the game that he knew he was starting on Friday, but he and the 49ers walked that back—but McCaffrey said that he went to bed Sunday hopeful he would be able to play the following day.
He was asked when he knew he could not play.
“Monday morning. I prepare every week to play,” McCaffrey said. “My mindset every week is I’m going to play. There’s been weeks where I’ll go the full week, not even feeling good enough to do the walkthrough, and then I wake up, and the body’s capable of a lot of cool things, and you know, mentally, I’m always prepared to play. And then I woke up, and it was a group decision, a very tough one.
“I hate not playing, but I look at it as a chess move, something that, hopefully, we can benefit from the rest of the season.”
Christian McCaffrey Led NFL in Rushing Last Season
Certainly, some rest for McCaffrey early in the season can only help as the 49ers move forward, especially considering they are hopeful of still being active when the Super Bowl takes place in five months. That is a long grind, especially for McCaffrey, who led the NFL in yardage last season with 1,459 yards and was second with 272 carries.
But McCaffrey revealed on Wednesday that he intends to play in Week 2 against the Vikings.
“Mentally, I feel like, as I said before, I am always prepared to play,” McCaffrey said. “My mindset is I’m gonna play no matter what I’m going through physically on Wednesday or Thursday practice. And on the game day, you’ve gotta make a decision. My mentality is I’m playing this week. That’s where I’m at.
“That’s how I am every week. You know, I’m not lying. I think as soon as a player says, ‘Maybe I’ll play, maybe I won’t,’ that’s not a good mentality to go into a week with when you’re kind of on the fence. So, for me, I’m ready to go.”
49ers Hoping to Have CMC in Week 2
For what it is worth, as the 49ers continue to push the notion that McCaffrey could go on Sunday, outside reporting says he probably won’t.
That comes from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who said of McCaffrey: “They decided, in the interest of it being a long season, to hold him out [of the Jets game.] … And not only is Christian McCaffrey out tonight, but there’s a real chance he’s not gonna play on Sunday either. They play on the road at Minnesota on turf in a shorter week.”
The 49ers clapped back at that notion, though, with McCaffrey saying it does not matter that the game is on the turf and coach Kyle Shanahan saying no decision has been made about McCaffrey in Week 2.
“It’s amazing. That person must be God,” Shanahan said after the 49ers’ victory. “We just found out he wasn’t playing today. I have no idea how he’s going to feel tomorrow, or the next day. I thought he was playing this whole week until today. So I don’t know who knows that he’s not playing next week.”
Of course, the 49ers have some motivation to say that McCaffrey should play — it forces the Vikings to make two different game plans. Take their clapping back, then, with a grain of salt.
