“Leaving the game plan is a sign of panic and panic is not in our game plan.” – the late Chuck Noll

Make no mistake about it. As Christian McCaffrey goes, so go the 49ers. His workload this season has been the heaviest of his nine NFL seasons with career highs in rushing attempts (311) and offensive touches (413). This is his third time he has led the league in offensive touches since 2019.

The only other player since 2000 to lead the NFL three times in offensive touches was LaDanian Tomlinson in 2001, 2002 and 2007. The wear and tear took a toll on the Chargers star, who was never the same after 375 touches in 2007. In 2002, he had the fourth most touches (451) in NFL history.

McCaffrey can attest to that toll as can other running backs to have more than 300 touches in a season. McCaffrey missed 13 games in 2024 after having 339 touches in 2023, his first full season with the 49ers. His 2025 total  does not include his 21 in a 23-19 win over the Eagles last Sunday.

The 49ers will find out how much McCaffrey has left in the tank when they face the Seahawks in a NFC divisional playoff game on Saturday in Seattle. The 49ers put McCaffrey to work in his second game after returning to action last season, giving him 23 touches in a 20-17 loss to the Seahawks. 

McCaffrey finished this regular season with 1,202 rushing yards to rank eighth in the NFL. Six of the top seven had fewer attempts than McCaffrey, who had a career-high 311. Only Jonathan Taylor had more attempts with 323 and put them to good use for the Colts in rushing for 1,585 yards.

McCaffrey averaged 3.9 yards per carry, his lowest since averaging 3.8 in 2020 with the Panthers. He ranked 39th in runs of 20 or more yards with three after having nine in 2023. Kenneth Walker III had 10 for the Seahawks with 90 fewer carries. Those 10 runs boosted his average per carry to 4.6.

Walker had 16 carries for 97 yards on Jan. 3 as the Seahawks beat the 49ers 13-3 to clinch the top seed in the NFC playoffs. McCaffrey gained 23 and matched his season low for carries with eight. He also had eight Oct. 26 in a 26-15 loss to the Texans. He averaged 19.6 in the other 15 games.

That the 49ers had just 42 offensive plays to 67 for the Seahawks likely contributed to McCaffrey’s subpar effort. The Seahawks also owned a 15-minute advantage in time of possession with four possessions of at least 10 plays. The 49ers had their most plays (nine) in their drive for a  field goal.

Deviating from a game plan of offensive balance cost the 49ers when there was so much at stake. They ditched their running game and put quarterback Brock Purdy in harm’s way. Purdy had to run for his life as the Seahawks unleashed their defense against a suddenly one-dimensional offense.

Purdy passed for 172 yards, the second-lowest total of his career, and was sacked a season-high three times.  The 49ers can protect Purdy by sticking with the running game instead of panicking at the first sign of trouble. After all, they are 9-0 this season when they have at least 30 running plays.

Two of those victories came against the Bears and Rams, who will meet Sunday in the other NFC divisional game. McCaffrey averaged 23 carries in the nine wins. He ran for 69 yards on 22 carries on Sept. 7 as the 49ers had an edge of 15:56 in time of possession in beating the Seahawks 17-13.