Christian McCaffrey is the talk of the NFL, and for good reason: the San Francisco 49ers star running back has scored a touchdown in 12 straight games, an impressive streak by any measure. But he couldn’t have done it without the New Orleans Saints.
Did you know the Saints were the last team to keep him out of the end zone? McCaffrey was limited to just 32 rushing yards (on 11 attempts) and 17 receiving yards (on 4 receptions) by the New Orleans defense when they met last November, and he didn’t put any points on the scoreboard.
Buy Saints TicketsIncluding the playoffs, he’s since racked up 804 rushing yards and 349 receiving yards, with a dozen touchdowns scored as a runner and receiver going into halftime on Thursday night. That’s a total of 1,153 yards from scrimmage (if he doesn’t even touch the ball in the second half against the New York Giants), or 96.1 scrimmage yards per game with one score each week. Compare that to the 49 scrimmage yards the Saints allowed — on top of keeping him out of the end zone.
New Orleans has a history of guarding McCaffrey well. They faced him often when he was with the Carolina Panthers earlier in his career. McCaffrey only scored five touchdowns in eight games against the Saints while he was in the NFC South, and that experience helped them defend him when their paths crossed again in San Francisco. Hopefully the next time they see him their offense can manage to put some points on the board themselves.
