McCaffrey, Purdy and the need for healthy D-linemen

The question was whether having two legitimate MVP candidates on the same team, the San Francisco 49ers in this instance, would prove to be a negative. Not in games, but in voting for the award.

Whether the ballots for Brock Purdy would cancel those for Christian McCaffrey or vice versa. That was last week.

Now there’s a larger question. Can the 49ers slow the Baltimore running attack when the teams meet Sunday night in what could be labeled a holiday gift from the schedule makers.

Or after a look at the standings, maybe called a Super Bowl preview.

The Niners, with their 45-29 victory over the sad sack Arizona Cardinals,  have the best record in the NFC, 11-3. And the Ravens, 23-7 winners over the Jacksonville Jaguars, also are at 11-3, best in the AFC. 

So, yes those would seem to be the favorites for Super Bowl LVIII (58 for us uncivilized folk west of the Roman Empire), that game is on Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas.

But not so fast. There are several weeks to go in the regular season when noting what’s been happening too often, injuries might occur, and then playoffs. So nothing is certain.

Other than what transpired, the Niners, although winning, were unable to halt Arizona’s ground game as the Cardinals rushed for 234 yards — marking the most against SF this season.

The Niners were missing starting defensive tackles, Arik Armstead (foot, knee) and Javon Hargrave (hamstring).

And whether they’ll be back against Baltimore, which rushed for 251 yards against Jacksonville, becomes a large issue.

Shanahan on Monday was asked about the possibility of signing a quick fill-in, someone like Ndamukong Suh.

"Not yet," Shanahan said. "I mean, I'm not ruling out anything. We have guys on our practice squad, as you guys see, that we used last week. But that stuff, we also aren't exactly sure when Hargrave and Armstead are coming back. We do know they have chances this week, so there's a lot of variables that are playing together that we'll be discussing here the rest of the day, and tomorrow. And even if we don't make a move in any area, that'll probably be continuing throughout the year."

If the defense is troubling, the offense is reaffirming. The MVP mentions had their usual spectacular games, despite taking hits that forced them to be examined by medical staff or trainers. McCaffrey was out for four plays. Then Purdy, the quarterback phenom, missed two plays.

Some gasp from Niners personnel but that was about all. McCaffrey, who was diagnosed with a stinger in his leg, rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns.

Purdy, returning to the suburbs of Phoenix where he went to high school, completed 16 of 25 for 242 yards and four touchdowns. 

Magnanimously he also tossed in the thought of McCaffrey as the MVP.

Because of those two, other Niners on offense tend not to be appreciated. One, of course, would be Deebo Samuel who had four receptions for 48 yards, and 2 TDs.

McCaffrey became only the fourth player in NFL history with at least four seasons of 1,000 yards rushing, and 500 yards receiving. His NFL high of  20 touchdowns moved a bit closer to the franchise season record of 23 that was set in 1987 by, who else — Jerry Rice, now occasionally doing TV commercials for a South Bay insurance firm.

First he grabbed footballs. Now he tries to grab clients.