SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — 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.