Why Whitner thinks the lack of CMC is the cause of the 49ers’ struggles in the red zone originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The 49ers faced a rash of injuries to start the 2024 NFL season, but Absence of Christian McCaffrey hurt San Francisco in a very specific area of the field.
Red zone efficiency has been an issue for the 49ers all season, which can directly be attributed to McCaffrey being sidelined since training camp.
NBC Sports Bay Area analyst Donte Whitner detailed McCaffrey’s crucial impact with a reduced platoon during a “Hitners Hot Take” segment on “49ers Postgame Live” following San Francisco’s 24-23 loss to the Cardinals of Arizona on Sunday.
“Through five weeks of the season, the 49ers are 2-3. Even though they have had the emergence of Jordan Mason, who currently leads the NFL in rushing, it is becoming more and more obvious to me that there are no Christian McCaffreys hit in the red zone,” Whitner said. “Reigning Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey, after throwing 21 touchdown passes in 2023, has scored 18 touchdowns in the red zone for the 49ers.
“And it’s becoming more and more evident that Christian McCaffrey’s short-area quickness, his versatility, his ability to run between the tackles and get into the end zone. And catching the ball out of the backfield, is a huge hole for the 49ers offense.
“Kyle Shanahan has to find a creative way to put his players in position to score touchdowns in the red zone. Otherwise, he will continue to waste games they should be winning.”
After finishing the 2023 NFL season as the league’s No. 1 red zone offense by scoring touchdowns on 67.2% of possessions after crossing their opponents’ 20-yard line, the 49ers have fell to 30th place in 2024reaching the end zone in just 40.9 percent of those situations this season.
McCaffrey stays sidelined by Achilles tendinitisraising the sense of urgency as San Francisco seeks a solution to its season-long red zone woes.
Coach Kyle Shanahan is among the brightest offensive minds in the NFL, but it will take something special to return the 49ers to the elite level of red zone offenses without McCaffrey’s help.
