SYDNEY, Australia – Not since Christian McCaffrey’s initial games with the 49ers in 2022 has so much speculation – and proof — existed over him splitting carries.
McCaffrey and Kaelon Black combined to run for 133 yards in the 49ers’ season-opening win over the Los Angeles Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last week.
The split: McCaffrey gained 68 yards on 10 carries in his first game as a 30-year-old rusher; Black had 65 yards on 14 carries in his NFL debut.
That balanced production was celebrated among the 49ers, even if fantasy-football coaches objected.
“It’s awesome. Christian can’t take every single rep. No one can,” center Jake Brendel said. “Being able to have a guy behind him on the stat sheet but really have as much production as he does is such a blessing.”
Context is required; beyond that, McCaffrey may have needed a few breathers, having endured cramps and a hit to the torso.
Black’s first touch was a 5-yard reception on second-and-9 to the Rams’ 33 on the 49ers’ opening drive. His first carry was 3 yards, on second-and-5 the next drive.
It was not until the 49ers’ fourth possession, midway through the second quarter, that Black broke out big time. He opened a drive with 5- and 9-yard runs, but it was three consecutive carries for 9, 5 and 4 yards that set up Brock Purdy’s ensuing 39-yard touchdown bomb to Demarcus Robinson for a go-ahead touchdown and the eventual winning points.
In between all that, McCaffrey got blasted in the ribs on a second-down swing pass that fell incomplete. Black naturally entered in relief, and after those 9- and 5-yard runs, McCaffrey stood on the sideline next to running backs coach Bobby Turner, who kept last season’s NFC Comeback Player of the Year there on the sideline.
The 49ers aren’t souring on McCaffrey. They’re embracing possibly their best complementary running back since McCaffrey arrived in a 2022 midseason trade to replace Elijah Mitchell.
Only once since then has another running back finished with more carries than McCaffrey if the latter finished a game healthy. That happened in a Nov. 13, 2022 win over the Chargers, when McCaffrey had 14 carries (38 yards) and Mitchell had 18 (89 yards).
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – SEPTEMBER 11: Christian McCaffrey #23 of the San Francisco 49ers runs the ball in the second quarter of the NFL football game against Los Angeles Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 11, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
“We were hoping that the carries would come out about even,” Shanahan said after that game four seasons ago. “That kind of was our goal before the game started … Then at the end there, when we were just trying to hammer it down, we were just feeling (Mitchell) so we kept him out there.”
The only other time McCaffrey got shorted carries compared to another 49ers running back was in a 2024 loss in Buffalo, where he sustained a knee injury and they turned to J.P. Mason and Isaac Guerendo.
Black has impressed since spring workouts, and that carried into training camp, where he showed speed, vision and an affinity for contact.
“He dropped me in practice once. I was blocking a linebacker 10 yards down the field and he made square contact with my rib cage,” Brendel said.
That powerful running showed up in Black’s debut.
“He’s running hard. I’ve got a bruise on my back to prove it,” right tackle Colton McKivitz said with a chuckle postgame. “When you’ve got a young back who’s ready to run hard and doesn’t question himself, that’s what we look for in this offense.
“When he sees a hole, he hits it,” McKivitz added. “It’s only going to get better for him as he reads one gap at a time.”
McCaffrey sure did not sound jealous or peeved afterward about Black’s debut and sharing snaps.
“He did incredible. Oh, he’s an awesome back, man,” McCaffrey said. “He’s a force and he’s someone who’s going to help our team a whole lot. It was really cool to see him go out there and just do what he does.”
That backfield also saw Deebo Samuel deliver a 12-yard run from the 49ers’ 8-yard line to open the series after Black’s coming-out party.
But when the 49ers needed to spark their second-half surge, it was McCaffrey racing for 14 and 16 yards on the first two snaps after halftime. McCaffrey’s dual-threat ability also yielded five catches (eight targets) for 20 yards.
Of the 49ers’ 65 offensive snaps, McCaffrey was in for 36, Black for 28.
“That was the goal for us coming into this, trying to balance it out more, whether it was with Kaelon or getting Deebo some carries,” Shanahan said. “Christian went out a little bit with cramps but he didn’t miss much, came back quick, and they all helped.”