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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Robert Zeglinski

NFL fans blasted the 49ers for recklessly trying to keep Christian McCaffrey’s TD steak alive while up 31 points

Christian McCaffrey 49ers Kyle Shanahan NFL CMC (Person)

Kyle Shanahan should know better. After injuries to Deebo Samuel and Trent Williams earlier this season, the last thing the San Francisco 49ers should be doing is exposing them to further danger. But even while his juggernaut team pasted the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-3 on Sunday — earning the unofficial opportunity to call off the (defensive) dogs — Shanahan couldn’t help himself.

With San Francisco holding a 31-point lead over Jacksonville in the closing moments, Shanahan elected to give McCaffrey four straight touches from goal to go. Why? He wanted to extend the superstar running back’s incredible touchdown streak to an unfathomable 18 games.

Shanahan and McCaffrey fell short, of course, with the runner’s streak officially ending. To say this decision was silly and baffling for the 49ers would be an understatement:

Here is how McCaffrey described his falling short after the game:

Yeah, maybe it’s just me, but I wouldn’t have risked the health of my best player in a winning blowout because I wanted to maintain an arbitrary streak that ultimately doesn’t mean much to my team’s primary goal. Even in a top-heavy NFC, health might be the only thing that keeps San Francisco from finally reaching the NFL’s highest summit and capturing the franchise’s first Super Bowl championship in nearly three decades.

Shanahan and the 49ers should count themselves lucky that they left this sequence with McCaffrey’s streak concluding being the worst news.

This was how Twitter reacted to McCaffrey's touchdown streak finally ending

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