Christian McCaffrey's 68-Yard Run Vs. Seahawks Joins 49ers Playoff Lore

CMC's monster 68-yard run among best in 49ers playoff history originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea

Christian McCaffrey joined the 49ers' playoff rushing list within the first eight minutes of Saturday's NFC wild-card game against the Seattle Seahawks.

The reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Month exploded for a 68-yard gain in the first quarter at Levi's Stadium, and it was the longest run in San Francisco’s playoff history since 1989.

Run CMC 💨 pic.twitter.com/PsxiDLGYid

— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) January 14, 2023

Christian McCaffrey's 68-yard gain is the third-longest run in the #49ers postseason history behind:

Roger Craig, 80, vs. Minn on Jan. 1, 1989
Hugh McElhenny, 71, vs. Det on Dec. 22, 1957

— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) January 14, 2023

McCaffrey was expected to gain just 7 yards on the run, per Next Gen Stats, but added 61 more to put the 49ers into Seahawks territory.

Christian McCaffrey reached a top speed of 20.80 mph on his 68-yd run, his fastest speed as a ball carrier since Week 8, 2019 (21.11 mph as a member of the Panthers against the 49ers).

🔹 Expected Yards: 7
🔹 Rush Yards Over Expected: +61#SEAvsSF | #FTTB pic.twitter.com/iMmUHSRxjh

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 14, 2023

Four plays later, the Seahawks showed they hadn't learned their lesson with the running back.

San Francisco rookie quarterback Brock Purdy escaped pressure and threw to a wide-open McCaffrey, who walked it into the end zone for a touchdown and an early 10-0 lead.

Purdy escapes pressure and finds CMC for the TD 🔥 pic.twitter.com/8gWDpO8yQy

— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) January 14, 2023

McCaffery started the drive and also ended it. Epic.

The 49ers will need a lot more McCaffrey magic if they want to walk away with a win and a ticket to the divisional round next week.