SANTA CLARA — The 49ers are atop the NFC West in a most uncommon style. They’re doing sufficient simply to get by on offense with key gamers on the sidelines, nowhere close to the juggernaut they have been in earlier years once they have been laying waste to the division and going deep into the playoffs.
The newest instance Sunday was a 16-15 win over the Arizona Cardinals, with a 10-play, 63-yard drive completed off by a 35-yard area objective by Eddy Pineiro. The play was arrange on a center display screen to Christian McCaffrey, who broke unfastened for 20 yards on a cross from Mac Jones to maintain the sector objective try at an inexpensive distance.
With out George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Brock Purdy and Jauan Jennings, this isn’t your father’s 49ers offense, And even that of your uncle or aunt. This was Jones, McCaffrey and Ricky Pearsall Jr. hoping to attain sufficient factors to reward a protection that was stout even with the lack of Nick Bosa to a knee damage within the first half.
In three video games, the 49ers have scored 17, 26 and 16 factors and gained all of them. They’ll in all probability have to maintain their gritty character for just a few extra weeks till the cavalry arrives within the type of Kittle, Purdy, Aiyuk and Jennings.
And if Bosa is out for any size of time — coach Kyle Shanahan stated an ACL tear wasn’t confirmed by preliminary checks however he couldn’t rule it out — they’ll in all probability want to attain much more.
San Francisco 49ers’ Nick Bosa (97) heads to the locker room within the second quarter of their NFL recreation at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Space Information Group)
Pearsall has blossomed right into a top-flight NFL receiver as evidenced by eight receptions for 117 yards together with a 34-yard strike on fourth-and-2 from Jones that arrange a 1-yard flip from Jones to Kyle Juszczyk.
However can McCaffrey probably hold this up?
He carried 17 instances for 52 yards and caught eight passes for 88 extra. And it’s conceivable he took extra punishment in these 25 snaps than at any time since donning a 49ers’ uniform for the primary time in 2022.
McCaffrey averaged simply 3.1 yards per carry and took every little thing the Arizona defensive position have to supply. Linebacker Mack Wilson blew him up twice, as soon as breaking apart a cross and one other time getting thrown down as if in a WWE bout alongside the sideline. All that was lacking was the turnbuckle and hitting him over the top with a chair.
“We were in the cold tub next to each other and I told him, ‘You took a lot of hits,’ and he said, ‘Yeah, I’ll be good though,’” Jones recalled of his postgame chat with McCaffrey. “That’s just who he is. I’ve learned a lot about the body and what you need to do to get ready being around him.”
San Francisco 49ers’ Ricky Pearsall (1) makes a 34-yard catch for a primary down towards Arizona Cardinals’ Kei’Trel Clark (13) within the fourth quarter at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)
I requested McCaffrey if he takes an virtually perverse pleasure in taking the punishment and bouncing again to his toes.
“No, I do not,” McCaffrey stated. “I don’t like getting hit. Sometimes there are games when you take a lot of shots and sometimes you don’t, but I feel great. It’s the nature of the best and what I’ve learned before is I’ve been very fortunate in this league to have a lot of success and had some seasons that have been humbling. I’ve realized that it’s better not to focus on anything other than what you can control in the moment and continue to grow and get better every week.”
Juszczyk, one among McCaffrey’s closest pals, stated the whole focus of the 2023 NFL Offensive Participant of the Yr was to completely bounce again from final season’s bilateral Achilles tendinitis and PCL pressure, which restricted him to 4 video games.
“I train with Christian in the offseason, and I’m telling you, there is nobody on this planet that trains like Christian McCaffrey,” Juszczyk stated. “He put absolutely everything into getting back to his form. Six, seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. he was grinding. And you’re seeing that pay off. And it’s needed. He gets tackled 30 times a game. I get tackled once and I’m sore. No matter how many times he gets hit, he always has something left in the tank. He had that screen to put us in field goal position, and that’s the guy we’re going to call on in those types of situations.”
The 49ers ran 62 offensive performs and 32 of them went to McCaffrey — 17 rushes and 15 receiving targets.
Christian McCaffrey (23) of the 49ers escapes Mack Wilson Jr. of the Cardinals Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group
That entire notion of working in Brian Robinson Jr. to take off a number of the load? Shanahan did what he has all the time performed when McCaffrey is wholesome sufficient to take the sector: Get him the ball in some way as many instances as he can and rattling the punishment.
One other good signal was the 49ers’ game-winning drive. Jones received issues going with an 11-yard cross to tight finish Jake Tonges, after which had a 10-yarder to Skyy Moore. There have been consecutive passes to Kendrick Bourne of seven and 11 yards.
By that time, the 49ers have been on the Arizona 36 and in area objective vary. It was then that the center display screen gained 20 extra yards to make Pineiro’s game-winner extra affordable.
San Francisco 49ers kicker Eddy Pineiro (18) celebrates after kicking a 35-yard game-winning area objective within the fourth quarter of their NFL recreation at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. San Francisco 49ers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 16-15. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Space Information Group)
McCaffrey had an help when it comes to the play execution as effectively earlier than the ball was even snapped. Jones stated he received a fast tutorial from McCaffrey on the play earlier than the ball was snapped as a result of he hadn’t run it earlier than.
“You look around in the huddle and you have confidence because he’s Christian McCaffrey,” Jones stated. “You know that he’s there and he’s going to make plays. I know he’s my safety blanket. I can throw it to him and I know I’ll get between 6 and 15 yards every time.”
McCaffrey already has 75 touches in three video games. In 2023, he averaged 21.1 in 16 video games. So Shanahan isn’t going to be shy about feeding him the ball. The query is whether or not he can maintain up within the face of some punishment that borders on inhuman.
The 49ers’ hopes to retain their NFC West lead will rely upon it.
San Francisco 49ers beginning quarterback Mac Jones (10) throws an interception towards the Arizona Cardinals within the fourth quarter at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)
Initially Printed: September 21, 2025 at 6:28 PM PDT
