49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was superb in Week 4 and posted four touchdowns in a 35-16 win over the Cardinals. It looked like he’d have an opportunity for a fifth touchdown late in the game when San Francisco had it at the Arizona 1, but quarterback Brock Purdy scored on a QB sneak instead.
There was a little confusion as to why head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t at least try to get McCaffrey a fifth score. It turns out it’s because Shanahan didn’t know how many TDs the RB had.
“I honestly had no idea until I just came in here that he had four touchdowns,” Shanahan said in his postgame press conference. “I never know that type of stuff. I was actually shocked and now I feel kind of bad about it. Wish I tried, but sometimes I’d snap at people if they’d tell me that stuff in games because it shouldn’t matter until the game’s over. But he would’ve got five if we gave a chance to him but did one for [FB Kyle Juszczyk] Juice, then they gave us quarterback sneak look and Brock took it. But I wish I got him five, he deserved it.”
McCaffrey still had a sensational outing with 106 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns, along with 71 receiving yards and one touchdown through the air. The four TDs were his most in a game with the 49ers.
Sunday marked just the fifth game in 49ers history where a player scored four-plus touchdowns. Tevin Coleman did it against the Panthers in 2019. Jerry Rice did it once in 1990 and once in 1993. Billy Kilmer was the first to do it back in 1961.
Had McCaffrey punched in a fifth he would’ve matched Rice in 1990 as the only players in 49ers history with five TDs in a game.
