Christian McCaffrey played against his old team, the Carolina Panthers, for the first time since being traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 2022.
The All-Pro running back helped San Francisco win 20-9 on “Monday Night Football,” scoring a touchdown and leading both teams in total scrimmage yards.
The 49ers (8-4) are now in good position for the NFC playoffs, while the Panthers (6-6) missed an opportunity to take the lead in the NFC South.
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While McCaffrey played well on the big stage, it wasn’t a great night for either quarterback.
Brock Purdy, who had three touchdowns the week before, struggled with turnovers, throwing three interceptions in a row in the first half.
San Francisco started strong with a 15-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a short pass from Purdy to Jauan Jennings, who fought past three Panthers defenders to score. But after the Panthers went three-and-out, Purdy’s first pass on the next drive was intercepted by Jaycee Horn, giving Carolina the ball at the San Francisco 16-yard line.
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But it wasn’t just Purdy’s turnovers that were an issue — Young struggled too.
On first-and-goal from the 1, Young seemed to have space to run toward the pylon, but instead tried to pass to tight end Mitchell Evans. Ji’Ayir Brown intercepted the pass in the end zone, saving Purdy from his earlier mistake.
Unfortunately for San Francisco, Purdy was intercepted by Mike Jackson in the opposite end zone when he tried to find Ricky Pearsall for a touchdown. The veteran cornerback read the route perfectly. On replay, tight end George Kittle looked wide open and could have scored with a short pass, but Purdy was looking for a big play.
Then Purdy was even more upset when Horn got his second interception of the game — a smart play where he was open in the middle of the field and Purdy didn’t see him on a pass intended for Pearsall. The Panthers finally scored with a field goal, making the score 7-3.
It was only 10-3 at halftime, but the 49ers finally got McCaffrey into the end zone against his former team in the third quarter. His 12-yard touchdown run finished a 13-play, 80-yard drive by San Francisco, where Kittle and fullback Kyle Juszczyk made key blocks to help him score.
McCaffrey finished the game with 89 rushing yards and seven catches for 53 yards.
The Panthers were still in the game despite being down 17-3, thanks to rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan catching a 29-yard pass from Young with 49 seconds left in the third quarter, making it 17-9 after a failed two-point conversion.
The 49ers increased their lead with another field goal, but the Panthers still had time in the fourth quarter to make things interesting. However, Brown intercepted a pass intended for McMillan that Young threw right to him.
The interception basically sealed the game, as Ryan Fitzgerald missed a 57-yard field goal with 2:47 left in the fourth quarter during the Panthers’ attempt to score.
Looking at the stats, Kittle led the game with 78 yards on six catches, while Jennings had 41 yards on five catches.
For the Panthers, Rico Dowdle, Chuba Hubbard, and Young combined for only 69 rushing yards, though Dowdle had four catches for 36 yards. Hubbard added four catches for 27 yards.
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