The San Francisco 49ers made quick work of the New York Giants, 30-12, on Thursday night to improve to 3-0, and an argument could be made that, at least for now, they’re the best team in the NFL.
Their defense suffocated Daniel Jones and company, shutting them out in the second half, while Jones threw zero touchdown passes and one interception. The 49ers now rank fourth in total yards allowed and second in points given up.
On offense, it has been the Christian McCaffrey show to begin the season. He ran for 85 yards and a touchdown on Thursday, which gave him 12 consecutive games with at least one touchdown, tying the franchise record set by the legendary Jerry Rice.
In addition, with 353 rushing yards in the first three games of the schedule, he has broken the Niners’ all-time record for most rushing yards in the first three contests of a season.
The old record was held by Garrison Hearst, who established it in 1998 on his way to 1,570 rushing yards for the year and a Pro Bowl nod.
Behind McCaffrey, San Francisco has scored exactly 30 points in each of its first three games, and as a result, it ranks third in both points and total yards.
The star running back could continue to pad his stats in Week 4, as the team will host the Arizona Cardinals, who are 0-2 and could be quietly starting to tank in order to give themselves a shot at drafting University of Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams.
The following week, the Niners will face off against their arch-rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, in what could be a preview of the NFC Championship Game. If Christian McCaffrey eats well in that contest, perhaps he could be on his way to being a candidate for the Offensive Player of the Year.
