The 49ers took a commanding 31-14 lead over the Los Angeles Rams with 6:48 remaining in their divisional bout Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
All momentum was on San Francisco's sideline. The 49ers Faithful, who invaded the Rams' home stadium with a sea of red and gold in the bleachers, were rowdy. It felt like the win was in hand.
Yet, on the 49ers' next drive -- with a 17-point lead and 4:43 to play -- coach Kyle Shanahan trotted star running back Christian McCaffrey out to the huddle and called for three straight running plays.
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McCaffrey gained six yards on those three carries, and San Francisco punted the ball away.
On Tuesday morning, Shanahan used an example from last season to explain why he kept the injury-prone McCaffrey on the field.
"Look at our Detroit game from Week 1 last year," Shanahan said to KNBR's Brian Murphy and Paul McCaffrey. "It was 41-17 with 1:58 left. On the last play of the game, it was 41-33 and Detroit had the ball on the 20-yard line, going for a touchdown to send it into overtime.
"To start sitting there, worrying about all of our guys when it’s a 17-point game with six minutes to go, is not a good omen. That’s not what you do to the football gods.
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"You don’t start worrying about the wrong stuff when there’s plenty of time left in the game."
In that Week 1 clash last year, the Lions trimmed San Francisco's 24-point lead down to eight in just over a minute with a touchdown, two-point conversion, successful onside kick and another eight-point drive. Detroit then recovered a 49ers fumble with 58 seconds left and was four yards away from the red zone before turning the ball over on downs.
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Shanahan did not want to experience that again, especially against a division rival in a critical road test.
McCaffrey, of course, was fantastic all game, becoming the first NFL player since 2005 to compile a rushing, receiving and passing touchdown in the same game.