The 49ers’ struggling run game was a major talking point around the NFL entering Week 7, and the team was well aware of the outside noise — along with their own lack of production.

While the return of tight end George Kittle’s blocking helped ignite San Francisco’s rushing attack in the team’s 20-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons this past Sunday, turning that narrative around, coach Kyle Shanahan offered a litany of reasons for Christian McCaffrey’s 129-rushing-yard, two-touchdown performance.

“A lot of things,” Shanahan told reporters Wednesday when asked about the key to the run game’s success. “It’s not just one thing. I thought we blocked a little bit better, I thought we ran a little bit better, I thought we called some better looks. I thought we were really good on third down, which kept us out on the field. I thought our defense really slowed [the Falcons] down … So, a lot of factors went into that.

“To me, how the lack of them threatening to score in the second half that much and our consistency in running it and our consistency in passing it. I thought we threw the ball well, especially on third down, which kept us out on the field and allowed us to keep getting those runs.”

McCaffrey registered his first 100-plus-yard rushing game of the 2025 NFL season against the Falcons, and had failed to cross the 70-yard threshold in the 49ers’ previous six games. Given the fact that injuries limited him to only four games in 2024, it was his first time rushing 100 yards or more in a contest since Week 15 of the 2023 campaign.

And through San Francisco’s first five games this season, McCaffrey failed to record a rushing touchdown. His first came in the 49ers’ Week 6 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and two more followed against Atlanta.

Given McCaffrey’s performance as the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year and his clean bill of health entering 2025, the lack of production in the 49ers’ typically run-heavy offense had some pundits and fans alike concerned.

“Yeah, I think we all were [upset over talk about McCaffrey’s production],” Shanahan said. “I don’t know if it’s all the talk. I don’t know what he listens to or not. I know Christian has a high standard, what he expects to do running the ball. I do personally, I know our whole team does.

“So, not getting the production that we would like these first five weeks, I think, had us all pissed off. I’m not saying we were pissed off, [and] that’s why we did it well in Week 6. We try our hardest every week. But yeah, when we’re not running the ball well, no one’s happy around here, especially Christian.”

It was only a matter of time before McCaffrey broke out, and it appears Shanahan’s run game now is in full swing as the 49ers prepare to face the Houston Texans in Week 8.

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