(Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
So far, this has been a seemingly special season for the San Francisco 49ers, and right now, they’re clearly the best team in the NFL.
They have an 11-3 record, and quarterback Brock Purdy is continuing his Cinderella story by ranking first in passer rating, QBR, and passing touchdowns this late in the season.
He is currently the favorite to win the regular-season MVP award, but some feel his teammate Christian McCaffrey, who is the league’s best running back, is more deserving.
Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk said on “The Rich Eisen Show” that McCaffrey should be this season’s MVP because when left tackle Trent Williams and wide receiver Deebo Samuel were out in October, Purdy wasn’t able to carry the team.
Who better than @ProFootballHOF running back and 2000 #NFL MVP @marshallfaulk to tell us why @CMC_22 should take home this year’s award:#FTTB pic.twitter.com/w7rUtBVVQC
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) December 21, 2023
Faulk even said that McCaffrey’s numbers could be “through the roof” and “off the charts” if the 49ers didn’t diversify their offense and limit his touches in order to keep him fresh for the playoffs.
McCaffrey is first in the NFL with 1,292 rushing yards, and he also has 13 rushing touchdowns, 509 receiving yards, and seven receiving touchdowns.
When San Francisco acquired him via trade last October, their offense went from middling to nearly impossible to handle.
However, the MVP argument in favor of Purdy is the fact that he has raised the team’s offensive ceiling even more ever since taking over for the injured Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 13 of last season.
While Garoppolo was a solid game manager, he rarely threw the football more than 15-20 yards downfield, and he wasn’t effective when he chose to do so.
Purdy, on the other hand, has been very efficient on intermediate-to-long passes, despite the national narrative that he only makes check-down passes and relies on yards after the catch by his receivers.
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