Three-TD feat earns McCaffrey accolade
Christian McCaffrey’s rare touchdown trifecta Sunday produced an NFL honor of historic proportions:
• McCaffrey was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his six-year career, an expected reward for passing, catching and rushing for touchdowns in the 49ers’ 31-14 win at the Los Angeles Rams.
• He is the first 49ers player to land one of the NFL’s weekly honors this season, although punter Mitch Wishnowsky won the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month nod for September.
• Frank Gore was the last 49ers running back to win the player of the week award, doing so twice in 2009. Then again, “wide back” Deebo Samuel won it twice last season.
• McCaffrey is the first ex-Stanford running back to win these honors since they began in 1984. Quarterback Andrew Luck was the last Cardinal overall to get player of the week honors, those coming with the Indianapolis Colts in 2018, his final NFL season.
McCaffrey and his 49ers teammates are off through Sunday for the bye weekend.
“I’ll take a little time off,” McCaffrey said after beating the Rams, “but I’ll try to get with my coaches every day, do something every day, just to continue to master the playbook.”
McCaffrey got traded from the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 20, in exchange for three 2023 draft picks (second, third, fourth round) and a 2024 fifth-round choice.
On Tuesday, the 49ers traded Jeff Wilson Jr. to Miami, after he took over as the starting running back since Elijah Mitchell’s knee sprain in the season opener. The 49ers acquired a 2023 fifth-round pick for Wilson, who’s slated to become a free agent and sensed that he’d fall out of the 49ers’ running back rotation with Mitchell poised to suit up after the bye.