{"id":704128,"date":"2026-01-25T15:01:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T15:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/704128\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T15:01:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T15:01:14","slug":"christian-mccaffrey-keeps-rewriting-history-and-the-panthers-can-only-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/704128\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian McCaffrey keeps rewriting history and the Panthers can only watch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christian McCaffrey\u2019s greatness <\/a>has never been very hard to recognize in Charlotte.<\/a> Carolina Panthers fans watched it up close for years. Still, what happened Thursday put even his long resume into a whole new perspective.<\/p>\n

The former Panthers star and current 49ers running back was named a finalist for three of the major Associated Press awards\u2026 NFL MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, and Comeback Player of the Year\u2026 Making him the first player in NFL history<\/a> to be a finalist for all three in the same season.<\/p>\n

What makes it even more impressive is how quickly things changed. Cause after an injury-riddled 2024 season limited him to just four games, many wondered how much elite football CMC still had left. In 2025, he answered that question clearly\u2026<\/p>\n

2,126 total yards from scrimmage1,202 rushing yards924 receiving yards17 total touchdowns413 total touches (most in the NFL)<\/p>\n

For Panthers fans, it\u2019s bittersweet. McCaffrey was drafted in Carolina, became the face of the franchise, and redefined what a modern running back could be. Now, he\u2019s making history in another uniform.<\/p>\n

The awards<\/p>\n

Christian McCaffrey is one of five finalists <\/a>(and the only non QB) for NFL MVP\u2026<\/p>\n

Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills, QBTrevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars, QBDrake Maye, New England Patriots, QBChristian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers, RBMatthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams, QB<\/p>\n

One of five finalists for Offensive Player of the Year\u2026<\/p>\n

Drake Maye, New England Patriots, QBChristian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers, RBPuka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams, WRBijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons, RBJaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks, WR<\/p>\n

And one of five finalists for NFL Comeback Player of the Year\u2026<\/p>\n

Stefon Diggs, New England Patriots, WRAidan Hutchinson, Detroit Lions, DETrevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars, QBChristian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers, RBDak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys, QB<\/p>\n

Of the three awards, Comeback Player of the Year is the one CMC has the best chance of winning.<\/p>\n

Cause after a season full of injuries that threatened to end\/ruin his career, he returned and led the league in touches, and remained one of the most productive players in football regardless of position.<\/p>\n

The winner of the AP awards will be announced during the NFL Honors ceremony on February 5, but for Christian McCaffrey, the moment is already in the record books.<\/p>\n

A former Panther<\/a>. A league standard. And now, a historic finalist trifecta.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Christian McCaffrey\u2019s greatness has never been very hard to recognize in Charlotte. Carolina Panthers fans watched it up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":704129,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2075],"tags":[235,260,2567,7,6,236],"class_list":{"0":"post-704128","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-carolina-panthers","8":"tag-carolina","9":"tag-carolina-panthers","10":"tag-carolinapanthers","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-panthers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115956343539421536","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=704128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704128\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/704129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=704128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=704128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=704128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}