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The 10 lessons of Week 8: Christian McCaffrey, the providential man of the 49ers

October 31, 2022

McCaffrey, the player that San Francisco needed

Arrived in San Francisco ten days ago in a big transfer, Christian McCaffrey had given a first glimpse of what he could bring to the 49ers last week, but in a limited role. Yesterday against the Rams? CMC has truly unleashed the horses.

183 yards in total (94 rushing, 55 receiving, 34 passing), 3 touchdowns scored (one rushing, one receiving, one passing), all in a great 31-14 victory of the 49ers on the land of their rival. For the record, this is the first time since 2005 and a certain LaDainian Tomlinson that a player has scored a passing, running, and receiving touchdown in the same game.

We can already say it, Christian McCaffrey brings an additional dimension to the attack of San Francisco. And when we know the qualities of the Californian defense, we think that the 49ers could do well in the NFC in the second half of the season.

Alvin Kamara remains one hell of a running back

With zero touchdowns scored in his first five outings and at the heart of several transfer rumours, Alvin Kamara needed a benchmark game to remind everyone what kind of player he really is. Bad luck for the Raiders, it fell on them: 62 yards running with a touchdown, 96 receiving and two touchdowns, in other words, the Saints runner had fun.

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That kind of performance explains why the Saints would ask — in any potential negotiation — for a package on par with the one dropped by the 49ers to get McCaffrey back (a second-rounder, third-rounder, and fourth-rounder in the 2023 Draft, and a fifth-rounder at Draft 2024).

Jets won’t go anywhere with Zach Wilson

In the fourth week, we had highlighted the ability of Zach Wilson to be clutch to lead New York to victory, so much so that we wondered if the Jets had finally found their franchise quarterback. A month later, one wonders if Joe Flacco should not be put back at the head of the attack, Wilson has been struggling so much since.

Yesterday, in a highly anticipated division game against rival New England and when Jets runner Breece Hall couldn’t play, the young quarterback completely screwed up. Three interceptions, a festival of bad decisions, in short Wilson made many gifts to the team of Bill Belichick, who did not ask for so much. What weigh down the Jets, who were on a big dynamic but ended up falling 22-17.

The most disturbing thing about all of this is that this is not an isolated fail for Zach Wilson. Since the start of the season, he has sent only 3 touchdowns for 5 interceptions with a completion percentage of only 55%. Ok you have to be patient, but it goes a long way there…

Tony Pollard is the best runner in Dallas

Sharing the backfield with Ezekiel Elliott since the start of the season, Tony Pollard took advantage of the latter’s absence yesterday to show that he is much more than a luxury back-up. On 14 carries, he racked up 131 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Bears, and is now at 506 total yards on the season on just 81 carries (6.2 yards per carry). An impressive production while Zeke shows some signs of decline.

What upset the hierarchy of running backs in Dallas?

Jerry Jones is teasing

Derrick Henry is truly a Texans worst nightmare

To stay in the Halloween mood, Derrick Henry made the Texans live a real nightmare by accumulating 219 yards on the ground (and 2 touchdowns). The Titans runner thus tied the NFL record for most 200-yard games rushed with six. Of these six performances, four were made against Houston…

The Falcons are the best team in the NFC South (?!?)

If we had been told in early September that Atlanta would be in first position in the NFC South at mid-season, not sure we would have believed it. Not sure at all though. And yet, it is the Falcons who are in the lead with a record of 4 wins – 4 losses after their crazy success yesterday against Carolina.

The incredible scenario at the end of the game between Atlanta and the Panthers is symbolic of the very unpredictable side of this division, but also of its mediocrity. Between the sinking Buccaneers (3-5), the Saints (3-5) who have had a lot of lows since the start of the season and Carolina (2-6) who are in destruction mode – reconstruction, it is so a team with Marcus Mariota as the titular quarterback who leads the dance.

And to think that one of these franchises will play the Playoffs…

The Jalen Hurts – AJ Brown connection at the top of the top

The new Eagles receiver AJ Brown had made an impression in the first week in Detroit (13 receptions, 155 yards), before being more discreet in the following games. But yesterday against Pittsburgh, the star rookie of the offseason flew over the meeting by capturing three bombs from Jalen Hurts in the end zone in the first half alone. A real offensive explosion, which is enough to scare the rest of the NFL.

“I believe in him a lot. We have a great relationship, I’ve always had a lot of admiration for his mentality, his will, and he does a lot of good things for us. I’m proud of him, as a friend and as a quarterback. »

The words of Jalen Hurts perfectly symbolize the big dynamic that exists today in Philadelphia.

Led by their offensive duo, the Eagles now have a perfect 7-0 record, the best record in franchise history tied with the 2004 team.

Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle on historic bases

Not far from being unstoppable since the start of the season, the duo of receivers from Miami still made big sparks yesterday in Detroit. 188 yards for Tyreek Hill, 106 for Jaylen Waddle with 2 bonus touchdowns, which gives a combined total of 1,688 yards over the first eight games of the season. If we are to believe NFL Researchit’s simply an all-time record for a duo.

Patrick Peterson is the vindictive type

Patrick Peterson played a decade with the Cardinals and didn’t like how the adventure ended with Arizona. So for the big reunion yesterday, the former All-Pro cornerback wanted to play a bad trick on Kyler Murray. That’s what he did by deflecting several passes when tested, and most importantly by unleashing a barely-targeted celebration.

“Call of Duty is the name of the game, right? Modern Warfare? I don’t play video games. I do not understand anything. But I heard the game was just released. »

Nice dedication for Murray, a big fan of Call of Duty.

As a reminder, the Vikings won 34-26 in the end and have the second best record in the NFC. A great day for PP2.

October 31, 2022
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