49ers' Christian Mccaffrey Uses ‘business' Mindset Over Revenge To Beat Panthers

49ers' Christian McCaffrey uses ‘business' mindset over revenge to beat Panthers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SANTA CLARA – Facing the team that welcomed him into the NFL for the first time since that same franchise traded him away more than three seasons ago, it was difficult to tell whether or not 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey had any sort of revenge on his mind.

Knowing it would be a hot topic in the days leading up to Monday, McCaffrey stayed mostly silent on the matter and kept the same approach against the Carolina Panthers after kickoff. In the two-time All-Pro’s view, it was just another game on the 49ers’ schedule and nothing more than that.

“When it comes to playing in the league you have to approach each week as similar as possible, staying in your routine,” McCaffrey said after his new team beat his old team, 20-9, at Levi’s Stadium. “You can’t get too far outside of what’s normal for you, and so I tried to do that. Obviously when you see familiar faces it’s always good to see them before the game, after the game, but that’s a completely new team. It’s really just business once the ball snapped.”

It’s been just business for McCaffrey all season. To call him the 49ers’ workhorse is the understatement of the year.

After carrying 24 times for 89 yards with a touchdown and hauling in seven catches for another 53 yards, McCaffrey is in that rarefied air of NFL. He currently leads the league in both carries (217) and receptions (81). 

He has combined for more than 100 yards in 10 of San Francisco’s 12 games this season, and it doesn’t seem like he’ll be slowing down any time soon.

“Just the way that he trains and his preparation and understanding what he’s about to go through every single game like that,” quarterback Brock Purdy said. “Dude is on a routine and on a schedule better than anybody that I know, so he’s able to carry that kind of workload and making plays out of the backfield as a receiver, and then run the ball hard and fight and scratch and claw for every yard.

“We have nothing but the utmost respect for that guy and what he does for our team, and does it over and over and over again. Obviously the numbers are great, but more than anything, he’s a great example for all of us in the locker room.”

While McCaffrey didn’t talk much about revenge, the 49ers had a pretty clear idea of what the game against the Panthers meant to him. On San Francisco’s opening drive he had nine touches, tied for the most he has had on any opening drive in his NFL career.

“He’s always on top of his stuff and the details, and his mindset, he wants to go out and he’s ready to humble somebody,” Purdy said. “He’s Mr. Reliable. He’s always there. When 23 is there, I’m like, ‘I know that if I get the ball in his hands, he can make a guy miss and turn a 4-yard gain into a 7-, 8-, 9- or 10-yard gain. He’s done that over and over again.”

The other thing that has made McCaffrey so successful has been his ability to stay healthy during a season in which so many of San Francisco’s key players have gone down, many for the remainder of the campaign.

“I feel great,” McCaffrey said. “I think I work hard. We got a great staff out here, but I say this all the time: God is good, and I feel really blessed to be able to be playing football right now.”

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