SEATTLE — San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey had just etched his name into the franchise record books once again and his team had done the same with a landmark victory in Seattle against the rival Seahawks.
But the thing most on McCaffrey’s mind after setting the franchise record for rushing touchdowns in a season and his team throttling Seattle 31-13 on Thursday night was the postgame meal he got to enjoy on Lumen Field with his teammates.
«That was awesome,» McCaffrey said. «It was actually really good turkey, too. I have no idea how they kept all of the dishes hot … but the turkey was really good, well cooked. It wasn’t dry at all and like I said, still hot, which was impressive for being 20 minutes after the game.»
For as impressive as hot turkey might have been for McCaffrey and six of his teammates, what they did Thursday night shined even brighter as they took control of the NFC West division.
For starters, the Niners seem to have finally broken the spell the Seahawks have had over them for the better part of the past decade-plus. Including Thursday night’s win, this is the second consecutive year the Niners beat the Seahawks in Seattle, something the team had never done in franchise history. The 18-point margin of victory was their largest in a game at Seattle since a 31-point win in 1988.
It was also San Francisco’s 10th consecutive win in the NFC West division and fourth straight (including playoffs) against a Seahawks team that had won 17 of the previous 21 meetings dating to 2012.
For Niners fans with long memories, perhaps the most painstaking came in 2014 when the Seahawks dined on turkey at midfield of the just-opened Levi’s Stadium. Although the Niners don’t have many players who have suffered through those past defeats to Seattle, it’s not lost on them what it means to finally exorcise some of those demons.
«A win against that team, they play us so hard every single time we play ‘em,» linebacker Fred Warner said. «A win regardless of the score, I feel like is really big for us. And it’s in the division, on the road in a big-time situation.»
It’s no coincidence that McCaffrey’s arrival in San Francisco has aligned with San Francisco’s sudden dominance against the Seahawks. McCaffrey has played a key role in three of those four wins and put his stamp on Thursday’s game before chowing down postgame.
McCaffrey finished Thursday’s game with 114 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns, adding another 25 yards on five receptions. It was the second touchdown that will lead the highlight reel coach Kyle Shanahan shows his team during film review next week.
On first-and-goal at Seattle’s 8 with 5:19 left in the first half, McCaffrey took a pitch to the left and looked to cut it inside. A wall of humanity blocked his path to the end zone as McCaffrey patiently waited for a sliver of room to run. When it finally (barely) opened, he squeezed through the tiniest of holes, made a pair of tacklers miss and then carried multiple defenders into the end zone for the 8-yard score.
It was McCaffrey’s 11th rushing touchdown of the season, the most by a Niner in a season in franchise history, surpassing six others previously tied at 10. It was also McCaffrey’s league-leading 16th total touchdown on the season, joining Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens as the only 49ers ever to hit that many in a year.
«It was awesome,» Shanahan said. «I didn’t think it was going to be there … They didn’t look like calls that should have scored but he made it come to life.»
McCaffrey has 29 touchdowns from scrimmage since joining the Niners in October of last season. Only Chicago’s Gale Sayers (31) and the Eagles’ Steve Van Buren (30) have scored more in their first 25 games (including playoffs) with a new team in NFL history.
«He’s a dog,» quarterback Brock Purdy said. «You just never know when he’s going to keep going or get out of something. For him to do that doesn’t really surprise me. But at the same time, I look up to that kind of stuff. It gives us a spark and energy to the offense when we need it most.»
The 49ers figure to need plenty more of it in the coming weeks. At 8-3, they sit two games clear of the Seahawks in the NFC West with the tiebreaker in hand. The teams meet again at Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 10, and there’s a scenario in which the 49ers could wrap up the division crown that day.
Before they can get to all of that, they now get a short break to recover and prepare for a much-anticipated NFC Championship Game rematch with the Eagles in Philadelphia on Dec. 3.
But nobody was quite ready to talk about that showdown after Thursday’s win. After all, there was still turkey to eat and a victory against an old rival to celebrate.
«That was a moment I’ll remember forever,» Warner said. «Going into this game, I obviously wanted us to win because you don’t get to eat turkey if you lose on their field.»