In recent years, the San Francisco 49ers have made reaching the NFC Championship Game a habit, and they will play in their fourth such contest in five seasons on Sunday when they host the Detroit Lions.
All season long, they have had an understated sense of urgency about them while not getting too high or too low following a game, realizing that each game was merely a stepping stone toward what they hope will be their sixth Super Bowl championship.
Per David Lombardi of The Athletic, star running back Christian McCaffrey says the team has a high “sense of urgency” heading into Sunday.
Christian McCaffrey on the NFC Championship Game opportunity in front of the 49ers: “Teams like this don’t always come around. To have this opportunity, the sense of urgency is definitely high.”
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) January 26, 2024
All season long, McCaffrey has been arguably the team’s most valuable player on offense, and he was just named the Pro Football Writers of America’s Offensive Player of the Year.
He recorded an NFL-high 1,459 rushing yards plus 14 rushing touchdowns, and he also scored 21 total touchdowns from scrimmage, which also led the league, during the regular season.
That production earned him his third Pro Bowl selection and second All-Pro First-Team nod.
In the Niners’ win over the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round of the playoffs, he rose to the occasion with 98 rushing yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter.
He will be going up against a Lions team that has done an excellent job of defending against the run, which means that San Francisco’s chances of playing in Super Bowl LVIII may rest on quarterback Brock Purdy’s passing.
NEXT:
Kyle Shanahan Makes A Strong Statement About Brock Purdy
