Christian McCaffrey was the best version of himself Sunday when the 49ers hosted the Arizona Cardinals.
San Francisco’s running back cleared the 150 scrimmage yard mark, and posted four total touchdowns, including three on the ground. His outing not only propelled the 49ers to a win and put McCaffrey in the franchise record books, but it also made him just the fourth 49ers player to put up four-plus TDs in a game.
He would’ve had a shot at five touchdowns, but head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t know he was one short of a half decade.
Nevertheless, McCaffrey’s big day underscored just how vital he is to the 49ers’ offense. Here are the other four-plus TD games in 49ers history:
1961, QB/HB Billy Kilmer
Total TDs: 4
Kilmer had a huge game in Week 5 of the 1961 season. He had four touchdowns, and San Francisco needed all of them in a 38-24 win over the Vikings. The game was tied at 24 going into the fourth, but Kilmer punched in rushing TD Nos. 3 and 4 in the final frame to secure a 49ers victory.
1990, WR Jerry Rice
Total TDs: 5
To the surprise of nobody, Rice is not only on this list twice, but he’s also the only one with more than four touchdowns. In a 45-35 Week 6 win over the Falcons, Rice hauled in five TDs from quarterback Joe Montana. He snagged two in the first quarter, then one each in the final three quarters as San Francisco pulled away from their then-NFC West rivals. Atlanta got 14 fourth-quarter points to make it look respectable, but it was mostly a 49ers blowout win.
1993, WR Jerry Rice
Total TDs: 4
Yep. Naturally Rice is showing up again. This time he grabbed three in the first half including two in the second quarter that ballooned a 17-14 49ers lead over the Buccaneers to a 31-14 lead at halftime. San Francisco cruised to a 45-21 win from there.
2019, RB Tevin Coleman
Total TDs: 4
This was wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders’ first game with the 49ers after they acquired him in a trade with the Broncos. Coleman stole the day though with 118 scrimmage yards, three rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown. Most of his work came in the first half with his first three TDs coming between the 1:09 mark in the first quarter and the 1:53 mark in the second quarter. It was an impressive display from Coleman in a 51-13 49ers romp.
2023, RB Christian McCaffrey
Total TDs: 4
McCaffrey leading into Week 4 had one TD in each game of the year, but he’d not made much of an impact as a receiver. Heading into a showdown with the Cardinals he had 70 receiving yards on 11 catches with no receiving touchdowns. He posted 71 receiving yards and a touchdown Sunday as part of a four TD day. McCaffrey added three rushing TDs to put himself in rarified 49ers air.
