It was an ugly 20-9 Week 12 win for the San Francisco 49ers over the Carolina Panthers on November 24 at Levi’s Stadium. Nonetheless, it was another impressive game from Niners running back Christian McCaffrey.
McCaffrey recorded 24 carries for 89 rushing yards and one touchdown. Moreover, in the passing game, the veteran running back tallied seven receptions for 53 receiving yards.
With over 30 touches in the game, the 49ers leaned on McCaffrey heavily despite not being one of the prettiest of performances. Nonetheless, Niners wideout Ricky Pearsall didn’t hold back on his thoughts regarding the showing from his teammate.
“I don’t think it’s tough,” Pearsall told reporters after the game about the high number of touches that McCaffrey has received recently (h/t KNBR). “I mean, s–t, I would love 30 touches a game; I don’t think it’s tough at all. Honestly, he’s a really good football player, and whenever the ball is in his hands or going his way, success happens.
“So why not keep throwing to him [and handing] the balls? I don’t think it’s really tough. I think it’s actually really fun for him, and he probably wants that [and] so do I.”
49ers’ Offense Must Improve After Win Over Panthers
Nonetheless, it was an off night for the 49ers’ offense with quarterback Brock Purdy turning the ball over three times. While San Francisco won a low-scoring affair against the Panthers, Pearsall offered self-criticism of the unit.
“We had drives,” Pearsall added (h/t 95.7 The Game). “We were driving down the field. There was never a time [when] I didn’t think we were not having success on offense. I feel like we’re driving down the field pretty well, but we’re just having miscues, turnovers, whatever it is, killing ourselves.
“When you do things like that, you’re not going to get the outcome you want with a lot of points. Moving forward, we just [have] to make sure we eliminate those things.”
49ers QB Brock Purdy Talks Three-Interception Showing
Purdy completed 23 of 32 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown. The bigger issue, however, was the three interceptions he threw. Even with the turnovers, Purdy stood by his choices on those plays, insisting that each pass was the right one to make.
“Honestly, the decisions to go to those spots, I was fine with,” Purdy said postgame (h/t KNBR). “It’s just the execution of throwing a better ball. I feel like on really all of them, I need to drive the ball a little more. I kept it in the air too long on multiple throws.
“But again, that’s on me. I thought our receiver did a great job getting separation and winning. Execution-wise, I need to throw the ball more on a line and put it there… Toe is fine. It feels good out there. It’s really just about seeing the play develop, anticipating, and letting it rip at the end of the day. It had nothing to do with my toe.”
After falling to the Los Angeles Rams on November 9, San Francisco bounced back with consecutive victories. Still, entering Week 13, the Niners’ offense faces a tough test against the Cleveland Browns‘ defense, even though Cleveland sits at 3-8.
In Week 12, the Browns put on a dominant performance against the Las Vegas Raiders, racking up 10 sacks. That means San Francisco will need to contend with Myles Garrett and the rest of the defense.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post 49ers’ Ricky Pearsall Doesn’t Hold Back on Christian McCaffrey appeared first on Heavy Sports.