The San Francisco 49ers’ nightmare season just got worse.
The 49ers were blown out for the second consecutive game, losing 35-10 at Buffalo Sunday night. To add injury to insult, running back Christian McCaffrey may suffered another serious injury. McCaffrey sustained what coach Kyle Shanahan said was an injury to the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in his right knee Sunday night.
“I think potentially [it’s season-ending],” Shanahan told reporters after the game. “I think PCL is usually a couple weeks, but I’m not exactly sure yet.”
Shanahan did not give a timetable for McCaffrey’s injury on whether he could return for any of the team’s final five games.
McCaffrey took a handoff on first-and-10 and started to run, but immediately went down without being touched. He got up and jogged with a limp the sideline and entered the blue medical tent.
The team said he was initially questionable to return but later ruled him out for the remainder of the game.
There is speculation that McCaffrey may have sustained the injury on his previous run. McCaffrey burst up the middle for an 18-yard gain, but was tripped up by Buffalo safety Taylor Rapp, causing him to fall hard on his right knee.
The injury occurred just when McCaffrey was starting to look like he was returning to his 2023 Offensive Player of the Year form after recovering from an Achilles injury. After three up-and-down performances, McCaffrey had run for 53 yards on seven carries and two receptions for 14 yards. His 18-yard run in the first quarter was his longest of the season.
“It was frustrating,” Shanahan told reporters after the game. “He had a great week of practice and I could feel his urgency and stuff and thought he came out great, looking really good, and it looked like he just got his shoestring there. … I hurt for him, and tough for our team not having him.”
McCaffrey had appeared in four games since returning from bilateral Achilles tendinitis that started in early August and kept him out for most of training camp and all of San Francisco’s first eight games.
Just when it looked like McCaffrey was hitting his stride, potential disaster strikes him and the team.
“We all saw what he was doing, and he was on fire,” San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy told reporters. “He looked great. Hitting the holes hard and bouncing off guys and making some real explosive plays, and that’s huge. … He’s one of the best running backs in the league and you lose him like that. I think it takes away just sort of how we do some things within the offense.”
McCaffrey could potentially return before the end of the season, but the 49ers (5-7) have lost three consecutive games and are in serious jeopardy of missing the playoffs. They could decide to shelve McCaffrey for the remainder of the season.
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