Christian McCaffrey breaks NFL record held by 49ers great Roger Craig – NBC Sports Bay Area and CA

A week after failing to break the NFL record for consecutive games with a touchdown, 49ers wide receiver Christian McCaffrey found another way to etch his name in the history books against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.

With a 2-yard catch late in the first half, McCaffrey recorded the 484th reception of his NFL career, passing 49ers great Roger Craig for most receptions by a running back during his first seven seasons in NFL history .

This wasn’t the first time McCaffrey’s stellar play put him in the fresh air with Craig, as both dynamic running backs stand alone with Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk as the only running back in NFL history to record 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards. In the same season.

McCaffrey wasted no time adding to his impressive totals for the 2023 season, extending his tally to the league’s top receiving touchdowns among running backs with his fifth through the air after connecting with Brock Purdy on a 4-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter of Sunday’s game. With Tampa Bay.

The 49ers’ star running back has paced the position with a league-high 339 yards entering Week 11 while also leading the NFL in rushing yards with 747 entering Sunday’s game.

If McCaffrey can maintain this rapid pace for the remainder of the 2023 NFL season, he could become the first running back to lead the position in rushing and receiving yards since 2010, when former Houston Texans star Arian Foster accomplished the feat with 1,616 receiving yards and 604 receiving yards.

McCaffrey has put up Hall of Fame-worthy numbers since being acquired by the 49ers before the 2022 NFL trade deadline, recording more than 2,000 all-purpose yards and 24 touchdowns in 21 games for San Francisco.

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