{"id":124884,"date":"2025-11-25T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T08:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=124884"},"modified":"2025-11-25T08:00:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T08:00:31","slug":"christian-mccaffrey-shines-vs-former-panthers-leads-49ers-to-monday-night-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=124884","title":{"rendered":"Christian McCaffrey shines vs former Panthers, leads 49ers to Monday night victory"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Christian McCaffrey faced his former Carolina Panthers team for the first time since his trade to the San Francisco 49ers in 2022.<\/p>\n

The All-Pro running back powered San Francisco to a 20-9 victory on “Monday Night Football,” finding the end zone and leading both teams in total yards from scrimmage.<\/p>\n

The 49ers (8-4) are now firmly in the NFC playoff picture, while the Panthers (6-6) missed a chance to take sole possession of the NFC South lead.<\/p>\n

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\"Christian<\/picture><\/div>\n
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Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers is tackled by Claudin Cherelus, #53, of the Carolina Panthers in the first quarter of the game at Levi’s Stadium on Nov. 24, 2025 in Santa Clara, California.\u00a0 (Jed Jacobsohn\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

While McCaffrey shined on the primetime stage, it was a rough night for both quarterbacks.<\/p>\n

Brock Purdy, who threw three touchdowns in his return the previous week, struggled with turnovers, tossing three interceptions on consecutive possessions in the first half.<\/p>\n

San Francisco opened strong with a 15-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, capped by Purdy\u2019s short pass to Jauan Jennings, who fought through three Panthers defenders to score. But after a quick Panthers three-and-out, Purdy\u2019s first pass on the next series was picked off by Jaycee Horn, giving Carolina the ball at the San Francisco 16-yard line.<\/p>\n

49ERS VOID GUARANTEED MONEY IN BRANDON AIYUK’S CONTRACT FOR 2026 SEASON AFTER BIZARRE SITUATION: REPORTS<\/p>\n

But this night wasn\u2019t just about Purdy\u2019s turnovers \u2014 Young had some issues as well.<\/p>\n

On first-and-goal from the 1, Young appeared to have room to run toward the pylon, but he instead tried a pass to tight end Mitchell Evans. Ji\u2019Ayir Brown was right there to snag the interception in the end zone and bail out Purdy for his earlier mistake.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for San Francisco, Purdy was picked off by Mike Jackson in the opposite end zone when he tried to find Ricky Pearsall for a touchdown. The route was read perfectly by the veteran cornerback. Upon replay, tight end George Kittle appeared wide open and might have scored with a short pass, but Purdy was looking for the big play on the throw.<\/p>\n

Then Purdy was really kicking himself after Horn secured his second interception of the game \u2014 a savvy play as he roamed free in the middle of the field and Purdy simply didn\u2019t see him on a pass intended for Pearsall. The Panthers finally got points on the board after a field goal cut the deficit to 7-3.<\/p>\n

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\"Christian<\/picture><\/div>\n
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Jauan Jennings of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter of the game against the Carolina Panthers at Levi’s Stadium on Nov. 24, 2025 in Santa Clara, California. (Jed Jacobsohn\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

It was only 10-3 at halftime, but the 49ers finally got McCaffrey into the end zone in the third quarter against his former team. His 12-yard touchdown run capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive by San Francisco, where the star back got key blocks from Kittle and fullback Kyle Juszczyk to reach the end zone.<\/p>\n

McCaffrey finished the game with 89 rushing yards and seven catches for 53 yards.<\/p>\n

The Panthers weren\u2019t completely out of the game despite the 17-3 deficit, thanks to rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan hauling in a 29-yard strike from Young with 49 seconds left in the third quarter to make it a 17-9 game after a failed two-point conversion.<\/p>\n

The 49ers created some separation after adding another field goal, but the Panthers still had plenty of time in the fourth quarter to make things interesting. Unfortunately for them, Brown jumped a route across the middle intended for McMillan, and Young threw it right to him.<\/p>\n

The interception virtually iced the game, as Ryan Fitzgerald missed a 57-yard field goal with 2:47 left in the fourth quarter during the Panthers\u2019 desperate attempt to get points.<\/p>\n

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Looking at the box score, Kittle led the game with 78 yards on six catches, while Jennings finished with 41 yards on five grabs.<\/p>\n

For the Panthers, Rico Dowdle, Chuba Hubbard and Young combined for just 69 rushing yards, though Dowdle had four catches for 36 yards. Hubbard added four catches for 27 yards.<\/p>\n

Follow Fox News Digital\u2019s<\/strong><\/i>\u00a0sports coverage on X\u00a0and subscribe to<\/strong><\/i>\u00a0the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n

\n

Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The San Francisco 49ers moved to 8-4 with a convincing 20-9 win over Carolina, keeping playoff hopes alive while the Panthers fell to 6-6.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":124905,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nChristian McCaffrey shines vs former Panthers, leads 49ers to Monday night victory - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=124884\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christian McCaffrey shines vs former Panthers, leads 49ers to Monday night victory - 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