Christian McCaffrey has barely played this season.
But the star running back could already be done for the year.
Christian McCaffrey can’t stay healthy for the fading 49ers[/caption]
On a snowy Sunday night in Buffalo, bad became worse for the San Francisco 49ers and McCaffrey.
As fans debated the severity of the running back’s latest injury and wondered whether a slow-motion video displayed the exact moment that McCaffrey was hurt, it was clear that the 49ers will again be without their best player.
San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said after a 35-10 road loss to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills that McCaffrey suffered a posterior cruciate ligament injury in his left knee.
He’s only played in four games this season and wasn’t activated until November 10.
With McCaffrey potentially lost for the season and the 49ers falling to 5-7, a team with three consecutive losses is on the verge of being eliminated from the playoffs.
“Just saw 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey walk by us very slowly, using crutches, with a large brace on his right knee,” Sal Capaccio tweeted.
McCaffrey, 28, finished third in NFL MVP voting last year, while the 49ers almost beat Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
A year later, McCaffrey has been a shell of himself on the field and has again struggled with injuries.
He has rushed 50 times for 202 yards, and there’s a realistic chance he’s now out for the season.
Last year, the former Stanford star won Offensive Player of the Year while rushing for 1,459 yards and 14 TDs, and adding 564 receiving yards with seven additional scores.
McCaffrey was brought down by a shoestring tackle[/caption]
He hit the ground hard and has barely played this year[/caption]
McCaffrey only played in three games in 2020 and was limited to seven in 2021.
He’s one of the best players in the NFL — when healthy.
Now, he’s approaching a decade in the league, yet has become unreliable for the 49ers like he once was with the Carolina Panthers.
“D*** that looks painful,” one fan tweeted. “Running at top speed and falling on your knees like that.”
“Turning injury prone,” a second fan posted. “Might need to call it man smh.”
The 49ers have been the NFC’s superpower over the last five seasons but have fallen short of a Super Bowl.
Kyle Shanahan’s team have lost in the NFC Championship game twice, alongside two defeats to the three-peat chasing Chiefs but this year – unless there is a remarkable turnaround they look certain to fall short.
San Francisco face the Chicago Bears in Week 14 and are reaching the point of no return. At 5-7 they are two games behind the NFC West leading Seattle Seahawks, but hhave just five games remaining.
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