Christian McCaffrey TD streak: 49ers star's scoring run ends at 17 games, matching NFL record

David Suggs

•
Christian McCaffrey TD streak: 49ers star's scoring run ends at 17 games, matching NFL record image

Christian McCaffrey's touchdown streak came to an unceremonious end on Sunday. He didn't go down without a fight, though.

The 49ers star had graced the end zone with his presence in each of the previous 17 regular-season games, equal with Hall of Famer Lenny Moore's NFL-record mark (from 1965) and better than the 15-game runs by John Riggins (1983) and O.J. Simpson (1975).

But all good things come to a close. And for the first time since Week 7 of the 2022 season, McCaffrey failed to find paydirt.

MORE: Joshua Dobbs stars, leads team to victory in first start since Cardinals trade

It wasn't particularly consequential to San Francisco, which cruised to a decisive 34-3 victory over the Jaguars on Sunday. Still, McCaffrey and Co. didn't want to see the mark fall by the wayside. So with the clock winding down and the Niners in clear control, head coach Kyle Shanahan opted to continue to feed San Francisco's tailback ... again and again and again.

McCaffrey fielded not one, not two, not three, but four straight targets in the red zone with the game already decided. They all ended in smoke; McCaffrey failed to breach the promised land on fourth down, seeing Sam Darnold's final effort crash to the ground.

McCaffrey's record was no more. But the MVP candidate was still able to retain his sense of humor after the matchup, jokingly telling reporters that his lack of a score was an indication of just how limited he is when compared to his teammates.

MORE: Updated NFL standings, playoff picture for Week 10

Shanahan wasn't quite as jovial. In his postgame presser, he explained the logic behind placing the ball in CMC's hands, even when the game was well out of reach.

"Eighteen games in a row is a big record," Shanahan said. "So I mean if we had the chance to, I was going to try to do it for him."

"It was a little nerve-wracking. The last thing I want to for him is get him hurt. ... Once we got close, we told him to stay loose, we're going to try," Shanahan added. "We got close, wish we could have done it for him but I think that's a pretty big accomplishment, just doing it for 17 games straight."

Despite going scoreless, McCaffrey was at his ebullient best with 142 yards of total offense on 22 touches and emerged from the four-down attempt unscathed. So, silver linings. 

David Suggs

David Suggs Photo

David Suggs is a content producer at The Sporting News. A long-suffering Everton, Wizards and Commanders fan, he has learned to get used to losing over the years. In his free time, he enjoys skateboarding (poorly), listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and D’Angelo, and penning short journal entries.