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There was a lot of frustration for Christian McCaffrey on his long-awaited return from the bilateral Achilles tendinitis that cost him the first eight games of the season. McCaffrey, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, was largely bottled up on the ground, rushing for just 39 yards in the San Francisco 49ers' dramatic 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whose stout run defense held up very well. However, he was a huge asset for quarterback Brock Purdy in the passing game, providing the 49ers quarterback with a checkdown outlet out of the backfield he had sorely missed in his absence.

Targets to McCaffrey had an extraordinary success rate of 86 percent, per rbsdm.com, and no passing play involving him was more successful than the beautiful blitz beater down the right sideline from Purdy in the fourth quarter. It came with the 49ers on their own 47-yard line looking to retake the lead after falling behind 17-13.



The Buccaneers sent a five-man pressure, with defensive lineman William Gholston coming free up the middle. Purdy, seeing Gholston bearing down on him, arced a beautiful ball high into the air off his backfoot well before McCaffrey had reached the point in his route where he would start looking for the ball. Brock Purdy on this play: "We've ran that route so many times from camp to games in the past and obviously it just goes to a testament to his detail.

I know where he's gonna be because every time he runs it at practice on air or against a defender, he gi.

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