SANTA CLARA – Christian McCaffrey stormed out of the starting blocks in the first three games of the regular season.
On Thursday, the 49ers running back was named the league’s September NFC Offensive Player of the Month winner.
McCaffrey leads the NFL in rushing with 353 yards and three touchdowns on 60 rushing attempts, an average of 5.9 yards. He has 11 receptions for 70 yards.
McCaffrey has an active streak of 12 consecutive games, including the postseason, with at least one touchdown.
McCaffrey is tied with Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for the longest touchdown streak in franchise history.
“This is a great honor,” McCaffrey said after the 49ers’ 30-12 victory over the New York Giants last Thursday.
“Of course, scoring touchdowns is a team thing. The O-line did a great job blocking, I just had to hit the hole. But yeah, it’s a great honor to be mentioned with someone like that.”
Only Emmitt Smith (separate streaks of 14 and 13) and Arian Foster (13) have scored touchdowns in more consecutive games since 1990.
It is the third time McCaffrey has won the Player of the Month award, tying him with Tennessee’s Derrick Henry for the most awards for an active running back.
McCaffrey first won the honor in September 2019 – his 1,000-1,000 season with the Carolina Panthers. After a midseason trade brought him to the 49ers last year, he won the award in December.
Dallas linebacker Micah Parsons was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week, while Tampa Bay punter Jake Camarda won special teams honors.
In the AFC, Player of the Month honors went to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa of Miami, edge TJ Watt of Pittsburgh and kicker Tyler Bass of Buffalo.
The NFL rookies of the month were Houston quarterback CJ Stroud and New England cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
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