Christian McCaffrey One Catch Away From NFL Receiving TD Record as 49ers Host Broncos Today

Christian McCaffrey has a shot at NFL history today, and it comes against the team he grew up rooting for.

The San Francisco 49ers running back enters Week 4 tied with Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk at 36 career receiving touchdowns, the most ever by a running back in the Super Bowl era, according to Niners Nation. One more touchdown catch against the Denver Broncos puts McCaffrey alone atop that record.

Kickoff at Levi's Stadium is set for 1:25 p.m. PT. San Francisco comes in 3-0 after beating the Arizona Cardinals 36-30, while Denver sits at 2-1 following a 30-26 comeback win over the Los Angeles Rams, according to the 49ers' official site.

A Personal Milestone, Too

This is the first time in McCaffrey's 10 NFL seasons he has ever played against the Broncos in the regular season or preseason, according to the Gazette. McCaffrey grew up in Castle Rock, Colorado, the son of former Denver wide receiver Ed McCaffrey, who played for the Broncos from 1995 to 2003.

"I think about those late '90s, early 2000s Broncos teams and it kind of felt like my childhood growing up in the locker room with Shannon Sharpe and Rod Smith and Terrell Davis," McCaffrey told reporters this week, according to the Gazette. Former Broncos receiver Rod Smith, a close friend of McCaffrey's father, called it "nuts" that the two sides had never met on the field.

Injuries and roster timing kept the matchup from happening sooner. McCaffrey missed Denver's 2020 win over Carolina with a shoulder injury, was traded to San Francisco in October 2022 in a gap between scheduled matchups, and sat out both 2023 and 2025 preseason meetings between the clubs.

The Numbers Behind the Record Chase

McCaffrey has 166 rushing yards on 35 carries and 13 catches for 104 yards through three games this season, with three rushing touchdowns, according to the 49ers. If he scores any touchdown today and reaches 100 scrimmage yards, he'll tie Jim Brown for fifth on the all-time list of 100-scrimmage-yard, multi-score games, trailing only Emmitt Smith, Faulk, LaDainian Tomlinson and Barry Sanders, according to Niners Nation.

Quarterback Brock Purdy has thrown for 789 yards and nine touchdowns without taking a single sack through three games, earning NFC Offensive Player of the Month for September, according to the 49ers. He's the only qualified starting quarterback in the league yet to be sacked this season.

But Sports Illustrated flagged a real concern heading into this one: Purdy has only one interception in three games, but Pro Football Focus charted three turnover-worthy throws, and his first three opponents, Arizona, Miami and the Rams, rank among the league's weaker defenses. Denver's unit, led by Zach Allen's 3.0 sacks and cornerback Patrick Surtain II, is a different level of test, according to SI.

Denver's Defense Did the Heavy Lifting Last Week

The Broncos trailed the Rams 16-0 at halftime last week and still won 30-26, largely because safety Talanoa Hufanga, a former 49er, intercepted two passes and returned one for a touchdown, according to Newsweek and the 49ers. Quarterback Bo Nix threw for just 186 yards in that win and has 605 yards through three games overall. Running back J.K. Dobbins leads Denver on the ground with 121 yards.

San Francisco's receiver room is thin. Jauan Jennings is questionable with a rib injury, and the team called up Brandin Cooks from the practice squad to help absorb snaps, with Jordan Watkins also in the mix after playing well in relief last week, according to Heavy. On defense, Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams and James Thompson Jr. are out, while Dre Greenlaw, Keion White and cornerback Jaden Dugger are questionable. Denver is missing outside linebacker Dondrea Tillman with a hamstring injury.

Sunday's game is also the 49ers' Crucial Catch contest, presented by Sutter Health, spotlighting cancer prevention and early detection with activations throughout the stadium, according to the 49ers.

The matchup is the 17th all-time meeting between the two franchises, with the series tied 8-8. Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph summed up the challenge McCaffrey poses bluntly this week: "He is a Hall of Fame player, and he's still playing really well, not just in the running game, but in the passing game." Whether that defense can keep McCaffrey out of the end zone, and keep Faulk's name alone atop the record book for one more week, will be decided on the field this afternoon.