Christian McCaffrey Calf Injury Swings Fantasy Championships, Irritates Bettors

Christian McCaffrey has been a godsend to fantasy players this season as 59% of teams who had him made their championship game in ESPN leagues, according to Field Yates. Unfortunately, he hurt his calf at the worst possible moment for owners and missed a significant portion of the 49ers’ 27-10 win over the Commanders.

McCaffrey was apparently injured on the first drive of the second half. He had three touches before departing, and was later seen on the sideline with his calf heavily wrapped. McCaffrey finished with 14 carries for 64 yards and four carries for 27 yards before departing.

Elijah Mitchell took over as San Francisco’s lead back. He carried the ball 17 times for 80 yards and a touchdown, leaving fantasy owners to dream about what might have been if he’d stayed healthy. McCaffrey had just 13.1 fantasy points in PPR leagues while his backup surpassed him with 14 points.

Bettors were especially upset that McCaffrey didn't score in the time he played. He entered the game with -400 odds to score at BetMGM after getting a touchdown in 13 of his past 15 games.

The Niners had two drives that ended in touchdowns when McCaffrey was in the game. One the first drive, Deebo Samuel got the touchdown from the two-yard line and on the second McCaffrey came out of the game and Mitchell got the TD, also from the two-yard line.

Any extended time missed from McCaffrey would be a huge blow to the 49ers’ hopes moving forward. It would impact the line moving forward as Director of Predictive Analytics projects a one-point difference to the spread

“He’s obviously most valuable back, but they have enough weapons and good scheme to overcome a short term absence,” Koerner said.

McCaffrey was also heavy favorite to win Offensive Player of the Year before kickoff. DraftKings and FanDuel both had him at -250 to win the award as he’s gone back and forth with Tyreek Hill for the award throughout the season.