49ers Offensive Struggles Are Not Because of Christian McCaffrey’s Absence

The San Francisco 49ers had an unusual game on Sunday as they lost to the Minnesota Vikings 23-17.

The Niners defense played well, securing two takeaways and four sacks and limiting the Vikings to only 257 passing yards. It is worth noting that Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson accounted for more than half of those yards (133, and he scored a touchdown) before being removed from the game with a quad injury.

However, the team’s offense had all sorts of problems and that hurt NFL Fantasy Football managers as well. Bad penalties cost them important situations, and their play-calling and fourth-down decisions were questionable.

With Christian McCaffreyon injured reserve, one may assume that they lost this game due to them missing his impact.

That was not the case at all, though. One of their few offensive bright spots of the day was running back Jordan Mason.

Recap of 49ers Offense vs the Vikings

Their offense looked out of sorts and wasn’t firing on all cylinders

The 49ers struggled on offense in this one. Although they scored two touchdowns and put up 17 points, if you watched the game, you would see that they weren’t clicking like they were against the New York Jets in Week 1.

The Niners scored zero points in the first quarter and began the game with a three-and-out. Their next couple of drives saw them start on 1st and 20 due to false start penalties. Some big plays were also called back because of illegal shifts and holding.

That likely encouraged head coach Kyle Shanahan to do something he doesn’t often: go for it on fourth downs. The 49ers went for it on fourth three times in the first half, including twice when they were in field goal range. They went 1-for-3 on those and only scored seven points in the first half.

In the third quarter, quarterback Brock Purdy turned the ball over twice, including a fumble and an interception on his side of the field, which resulted in the Vikings scoring a touchdown two plays later.

Star receivers Deebo Samuel and George Kittle did have big fantasy days (186 combined receiving yards, one touchdown). However, for the most part, the Niners offense was carried by Mason, who has shined in McCaffrey’s absence.

Jordan Mason’s Fantasy Value Going Forward

Mason is a must-stash while McCaffrey remains on the injured reserve

There were plenty of people to blame for the Niners’ awful Week 2 performance, however Mason was not one of them. He picked up right where he left off in Week 1, accumulating 104 scrimmage yards (100 on the ground, four in the air) and scoring one touchdown.

This marks Mason’s second straight 100-yard game rushing and second game with more than 17 fantasy points (PPR). The 49ers have shown that they have no problem relying on Mason for a heavy workload, as he dominated the backfield in carries once again today. He was responsible for 20 of the team’s 25 carries.

If Purdy were to struggle again, it has become apparent that Shanahan has no problem in relying on Mason to take on an even larger workload, which increases his fantasy value even more.

With McCaffrey set to miss at least three more games, Mason should remain a solid running back option for now. Until McCaffrey is back, Mason is a solid RB2 option with RB1 upside for your fantasy football team.

All stats are courtesy of Fantasy Pros and Pro Football Reference.