Christian McCaffrey tallied his first touchdown with the San Francisco 49ers Sunday.
As no one in the world predicted, it came on a long touchdown pass to a wide receiver.
McCaffrey took a backward pass from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo early in the second quarter and found wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk wide-open for a 34-yard touchdown.
Really, who expected this from McCaffrey when the 49ers acquired him via a trade with the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 20? Remember all the speculation about how quickly the versatile back could pick up the 49ers playbook? If they’re digging this deep into the offensive plays just 10 days later that seems a moot point now.
In case you’re wondering, CMC has completed two passes in his career, for 84 yards and two TDs.
NFL fans loved the play by CMC.
“The Panthers traded their best QB and didn’t even know it,” tweeted Will Brinson.
More than a few fans had fun at the expense of Jimmy G.
“Don’t any of you dare make jokes about how Christian McCaffrey throws a better deep ball than Jimmy Garoppolo, because the fact is that it isn’t a joke,” tweeted East Bay Chris.
One final note: McCaffrey’s pass traveled 37.2 yards in the air, making it the longest completion by air distance by a running back in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016).
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.