The numbers from Christian McCaffrey's season debut for the San Francisco 49ers do not suggest it was overly successful.
The reigning Offensive Player of the Year had only 39 yards rushing in last Sunday's win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, averaging only three yards per carry and, while he had 68 yards receiving, 30 of them came on a crucial explosive play in the fourth quarter that set up a go-ahead touchdown.
Still, McCaffrey's impact as a receiver was illustrated on targets to the 49er running back having an 86 percent success rate. He was an excellent outlet for Brock Purdy out of the backfield and, even though the Bucs largely succeeded in bottling McCaffrey up, the value of his return to the field was illustrated by the impact of his gravity on the Tampa defense.
The threat of McCaffrey receiving the ball regularly allowed the 49ers to get their other weapons into open space.
It was a huge 33-yard catch and run from George Kittle that served as the standout example of McCaffrey's ability to influence defenses.
That gain was foreshadowed by a more modest one in the third quarter, when Brock Purdy hit Deebo Samuel for a 10-yard hookup on a slant after the 49ers sold a run to the right with McCaffrey, including the use of motion across the formation, which created a huge space in the middle of the field as the majority of the Tampa Bay defense bit on the fake.
Then in the fourth, the 49ers went back to the well with the outside run fake, this time selling a toss to McCaffrey to move three second-level defenders to the right, creating a huge void down the left sideline for Kittle to rumble into the open field having motioned back across the formation.
Despite McCaffrey struggling to get much going on the ground, the Buccaneers still had to afford huge respect to the threat of him potentially getting around the edge, and the 49ers were able to take advantage similar treatment dedicated to him as a pass-catcher.
On the play immediately after Kittle's long catch and run, the 49ers got Deebo Samuel open over the middle of the field by lining him up as an H-back and having him run an angle route, with fast motion before the snap from McCaffrey creating confusion at the second level as the Bucs, playing zone, attempted to bump their coverage to react.
Samuel got open against a hesitant Zyon McCollum, only for a low throw from Purdy to result in an incompletion that prevented a big play and possible touchdown.
That drive ended in a missed 50-yard field goal but, later in the fourth quarter with the 49ers aiming to build on a 20-17 lead, they got the explosive on a very similar play with McCaffrey again sent in motion just before the snap and Samuel running the angle from the H-back spot. This time a shallow route over the middle from Kittle and a clearing downfield route from fellow tight end Eric Saubert helped create a bigger void in the middle of the field, freeing up Samuel for a 32-yard catch and run.
Samuel's biggest play of the game was quickly forgotten as Moody missed another field goal, leading to a confrontation between the pair, with long snapper Taybor Pepper intervening.
While only one of the four plays shown, the initial 10-yard slant to Samuel, featured on a drive that ended in points, they all serve to hammer home the reason why the return of McCaffrey is so important.
Yes, McCaffrey is a tremendous runner and the best receiving back in the game, but his paramount trait for the 49ers is the gravitational pull he has on defenses because of his abilities in those areas.
When McCaffrey is on the field, the avenues for engineering space are more plentiful and easier to get to. The 49ers did a poor job of utilizing his gravity in the red zone, going one for three, but it was still a prominent weapon against the Bucs, one that would have resulted in a more emphatic win had Moody not had a nightmare day kicking.
Individually, it was a frustrating day for McCaffrey. On reflection, however, it should be viewed as an exciting performance from a 49ers perspective.
They were consistently able to get players into wide open space in large part because of how fearful the Buccaneers were of McCaffrey. That simply wasn't the case when he was out injured and it was Jordan Mason or Isaac Guerendo in the backfield.
As McCaffrey gets more comfortable as he gets more game time under his belt, the likelihood is his impact on the ground and through the air is only going to grow. Defenses will need to respond accordingly but, as was the case with the Bucs, their reply will risk playing right into the hands of Shanahan and the 49ers.
The numbers were disappointing but, with McCaffrey back, it's a very exciting time for the 49er offense, and a terrifying one for defenses.
