Christian McCaffrey’s big night leads 49ers to 20-9 victory over Panthers

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Christian McCaffrey maintained that playing Carolina for the first time since the Panthers traded him to San Francisco three years ago wouldn’t raise his level of urgency one bit.

McCaffrey responded to the reunion game like he does almost every week, with a productive performance that led the 49ers to another win.

McCaffrey gained 142 yards from scrimmage and scored a touchdown, and San Francisco overcame a rough performance by quarterback Brock Purdy to beat the Panthers 20-9 on Monday night.

“Obviously when you see familiar faces, it’s always good to see them before the game and after the game,” McCaffrey said. “But that’s a completely new team than when I was there. So it’s really just business once the ball was snapped.”

McCaffrey’s big night helped the 49ers (8-4) overcome three interceptions in the first half by Purdy to remain in playoff position heading into the stretch run of the season.

Bryce Young and the Panthers (6-6) struggled to take advantage of their opportunities a week after he threw for a franchise-record 448 yards in a win at Atlanta. Young threw for 169 yards with one touchdown and one interception as Carolina missed a chance to move into sole possession of first place in the NFC South.

Purdy wasn’t much better in his second start back from a toe injury as he became the first player this season to throw three interceptions in the first half of a game. Purdy said neither the toe nor rust was an issue.

“Honestly, the decisions of going to those spots, I was fine with,” he said. “It’s just the execution of throwing a better ball. I feel like on really all of them, I needed to just drive the ball a little bit more. I kept it up in the air too long on multiple of them.”

The 49ers went conservative in the second half after Purdy’s rough start to the game, relying mostly on McCaffrey and short passes. The strategy worked with McCaffrey scoring on a 12-yard run to make it 17-3 and the Niners adding a field goal by Matt Gay.

Young did connect on one big play, a 29-yard TD pass to Tetairoa McMillan, but Carolina couldn’t convert on 2-point try after a penalty moved the ball to the 1.

Young then threw his second interception of the game to Ji’Ayir Brown with Carolina in scoring position with a 20-9 deficit.

“Just lack of execution,” Young said. “Couple of plays I’d like to have back, some stuff we could do better. Not what we wanted. We didn’t do good enough and I take ownership of that.”

The frustration from the loss contributed to a spat, with Carolina safety Tre’Von Moehrig hitting San Francisco receiver Jauan Jennings in the groin after a run play late in the game and Jennings responding with a punch to the helmet after the game.

“I was just responding to some childish behavior,” Jennings said.

McCaffrey, who has transformed the 49ers’ offense since being acquired in October 2022, finished with 89 yards rushing and 53 receiving for his 10th 100-yard game of the season — two shy of the franchise record he set in 2023.

The 49ers gave the ball to McCaffrey on the first five plays, leading to the first opening-drive TD of the season against Carolina. Purdy connected on a 12-yard pass to Jennings for the score.

The two offenses did nothing after that. Jaycee Horn had two of Carolina’s three picks of Purdy, but the Panthers turned those takeaways into only three points. Young ruined one drive when he was intercepted by Brown on a first-down play from the 1.

“I like the call,” coach Dave Canales said. “It was an aggressive call, a play action that we had opportunities on. Unfortunately came out with an interception.”

The teams traded field goals and the Niners led 10-3 at the half.

Injuries

Panthers: Horn and LB Claudin Cherelus left the game in the first half with concussions and didn’t return. … G Chandler Zavala (calf) and CB Corey Thornton (ankle) both left in the second half and didn’t return.

49ers: DE Sam Okuayinonu (ankle) left in the second half and didn’t return.

Up next

Panthers: Host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

49ers: Visit Cleveland on Sunday.