The 49ers are having a year for the ages, especially on offense. They’ve posted 29.6 points per game and they’re on the verge of breaking a slew of franchise records.
That’s no small feat considering some of the all-time great single-season performances the 49ers have had on offense over the years. A team that’s been home to the likes of Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Steve Young and other franchise legends doesn’t have a ton of easily-breakable single-season marks.
Alas, San Francisco sits with two games left in its season and a chance for multiple single-season records to go down even before the 17th game that was put in place in 2021.
Here are the four franchise records that could be broken by the 49ers in Week 17:
Passing yards
Brock Purdy’s dreadful Week 16 game overshadowed the fact he cleared 4,000 passing yards for the season. He’s up to 4,050 and became just the third QB in franchise history to hit the 4,000-yard mark. Steve Young did it twice, and Jeff Garcia did it once in 2001 when he set the franchise’s single-season passing yardage record with 4,278. To break Garcia’s record Purdy will need just 229 yards against a Washington team that’s last in the NFL in yards allowed and 31st in passing yards allowed.
Total touchdowns
Christian McCaffrey after his Week 16 rushing TD is up to 21 total touchdowns, two shy of tying Jerry Rice’s 23 TDs in the 1987 season. He could very easily post three total TDs in Week 17 and break Rice’s record in 16 games. McCaffrey has five games this season with two-plus TDs, and two with three-plus.
Scrimmage yards
McCaffrey’s huge year also has him knocking on the door of Frank Gore’s franchise record for scrimmage yards. He’s up to 1,932 yards — the fifth-most all-time by a 49er. Gore in 2006 posted 2,180 scrimmage yards, the most in franchise history. It’s unlikely McCaffrey snaps that record in Week 17 since he needs 248 just to tie. We’re not putting anything past him, but this will be worth keeping a close eye on through the next couple weeks.
1,000-yard receivers
This one isn’t so much a record as it a statistical anomaly. Only five teams in NFL history have had three players eclipse 1,000 receiving yards in the same season. The last time it happened was in 2008 when the Arizona Cardinals had Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston all clear 1,000 receiving yards. George Kittle (991) needs only nine yards, while Deebo Samuel (834) needs 176 yards. It’s unlikely Samuel hits that mark all in Week 17, but it’s certainly in reach for the next two games.
As for Kittle, if he gets his nine yards it’ll be only the second time San Francisco has had two players hit 1,000 receiving yards in the same year. The last time it happened was 1998 when Jerry Rice had 1,157 receiving yards, and Terrell Owens posted 1,097.
