Christian McCaffrey hasn’t been able to get his groove back ever since he got back to playing. The game against the Green Bay Packers was proof enough that the 49ers running back still has a long way to go. Forget about being in the MVP conversation, CMC hasn’t even been a top rushing player in his own team since he got back. So, having huge expectations from him is unfair.

The Bay Area team has lost two games in a row and part of the reason behind that may be the lack of the run game. Moreover, the Niners benched Jordan Mason, who has been their go-to RB this season. But Shanahan understands the dynamics of his 5-6 team and despite them not doing well, he thinks McCaffrey is doing one “hell of a job“.

The Niners HC did a presser recently and was asked about how CMC was doing. He pointed out how the 49ers’ RB has been dealing with bilateral Achilles tendinitis since the off-season and has missed most of it, including the season opener against the Jets. So, it’s fair to let him do things at his own pace.

“I think Christian is doing a hell of a job. But to think him coming back in Week 8 and not being able to do anything the last 9 months or whatever it is, and to think he’s just going to be in MVP form is a very unrealistic expectation,” Shanahan said in the presser. To give you a picture of McCaffrey’s performance, here are his stats from the last few games.

To be reasonable, the Seahawks and the Packers’ defense packs one hell of a punch and it doesn’t allow much room for rushing. However, the Niners have suffered in a multitude of ways ever since Christian McCaffrey stepped back on the field. For starters, his performance isn’t as explosive coming off an injury, secondly, Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo have taken a backseat and that hasn’t turned out to be so good for the franchise.

Is Christian McCaffrey hurting the 49ers offense?

Grant Cohn of SI has been following the San Fran team closely and made an interesting observation in his article. In three weeks the Niners have had CMC on the playing field, they’ve averaged 16.7 points a game. However, without him, they were averaging 26.3 points per game with Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo getting more reps.

Mason and Guerendo are benched now. Ever since McCaffrey (AVG 3.5 YPC) returned to the field, Mason (AVG 5.1 YPC) has had six carries, while Guerendo (AVG 6 YPC), has only one. But McCaffrey was confronted by the media about the other two running backs being benched and the narrative that he doesn’t want to leave the field. Here’s how CMC addressed the situation.

“If I feel like I can’t be my best out there, I’ll come off the field. I don’t handle my own snaps in short answer. If I’m out there, I’m full speed, I’m ready to go,” CMC said. “I think there probably would be a lot more shared if it weren’t for some of the positions that our offense has gotten ourselves into these last couple of weeks.”

For now, the 49ers primary RB will continue to “chop wood” and do whatever is being asked of him. Three games isn’t a big enough sample size to judge his performance, especially considering that he was an MVP candidate last season.