SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan insinuated he wanted Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons to be a big night for running back Christian McCaffrey.

On Saturday, Shanahan challenged his team to get 40 carries against the Falcons, a number that would signify the Niners controlled the line of scrimmage and handed the ball to McCaffrey early and often.

Tight end George Kittle, making his return from a right hamstring injury that caused him to miss five games, was less subtle.

“Every Saturday night, our tight end coach [Brian] Fleury wants all the tight ends to get up in front of the room and set a goal,” Kittle said. “Anywhere from dominate the edges, tight end touchdown, whatever goals. And my goal this week was CMC [to be] NFC Player of the Week. And if I actually called that, that might be the best guess of all time.”

After the 49ers had put the finishing touches on a 20-10 win to improve to 5-2, Kittle’s goal looked exceedingly realistic. McCaffrey, who has remained the focal point of the Niners’ offense despite the unit’s injury woes, had his finest performance in a season full of them.

By the time McCaffrey was through, he had posted a season-high 129 rushing yards on 24 carries with 2 rushing touchdowns. He also led the Niners in receiving with seven catches for 72 yards, including a 17-yard grab on third-and-13 before his game-sealing 4-yard touchdown run.

His 201 scrimmage yards were the most by McCaffrey as a Niner and accounted for 62% of the team’s yards from scrimmage, the highest percentage for any player in a game this season. And though the 49ers finished one shy of Shanahan’s goal of 40 carries, they accumulated a season-high 174 rushing yards on 39 attempts, an average of 4.5 yards per carry, also a season high.

McCaffrey continued to etch his name in the franchise and league record books for all-purpose production.

• This was McCaffrey’s sixth game this season with 50-plus rushing yards and 50-plus receiving yards, the most by any player in NFL history through a team’s first seven games.

• It was McCaffrey’s ninth career game with 100-plus rushing yards and 50-plus receiving yards, tied with Jim Brown and Priest Holmes for the third most in NFL history.

• McCaffrey joined Roger Craig (1988) as the only 49ers with seven straight games of 100-plus scrimmage yards to open a season.

Through Sunday night’s games, McCaffrey leads the NFL in scrimmage yards (981), and his six total touchdowns is tied for fourth most. Despite the run game struggling mightily through the first six games, McCaffrey is on pace to have over 1,000 yards each rushing and receiving, and, at his current rate, he would surpass the NFL record of 1,097 receiving yards by a running back in a season with room to spare.

“He’s huge,” Shanahan said. “He’s the most consistent player I’ve been around. He just allows you to stay on track. He gets every yard in the run game and more and what he does in the pass game … it’s rare that you’re going to throw a ball to him and not get a completion.”

After another do-it-all performance, McCaffrey quickly credited his teammates. It was no coincidence that the 49ers’ run game took off upon Kittle’s return. McCaffrey had 20 rushes for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns when Kittle was on the field, compared with four rushes for 3 yards when he was not.

Although Kittle’s streak of 114 games with a reception ended, his presence was felt not only as a blocker in the run game but in the attention he drew from defenders. On the third-and-13 completion to help seal the win, 49ers quarterback Mac Jones said he saw multiple Falcons cover Kittle, leaving McCaffrey one-on-one for the easy first down.

“It’s a different ballgame when he’s in there,” McCaffrey said. “Even when he doesn’t have a big statistical game, the attention that he draws opens so much up … When you’ve got guys like that on the field, just their presence alone strikes a lot of fear in coordinators and so you have to keep eyes on them.”

Kittle’s return wasn’t the only emotional pick-me-up for the 49ers. After losing star linebacker Fred Warner (right ankle surgery) for the season, the Niners spent the week answering questions about how the defense would fare without Warner (and star defensive end Nick Bosa, who suffered a torn right ACL in Week 3).

Niners linebacker Dee Winters arrived at the game wearing Warner’s No. 54 jersey, multiple players warmed up wearing a shirt with Warner’s face on it, and Warner received a loud ovation pregame when he made his way onto the field with the help of a scooter. During the game, Warner was shown holding his young son in a suite and it drew cheers so loud that Kittle joked the Niners’ offense almost had to go to a silent count on that play.

Perhaps nobody was more inspired by Warner’s absence than his replacement, second-year linebacker Tatum Bethune. Bethune said he cried before the game, not just because Warner was out, but for the chance to prove to doubters that the 49ers’ defense can still slow down opponents.

For the second week in a row, Bethune finished with 10 tackles, leading a Niners defense that held Atlanta to 292 yards on 4.9 yards per play, including a season-low 62 rushing yards.

“I saw all of it and as a defense we didn’t talk about it, but I felt a certain way about it,” Bethune said. “I was emotional before the game. … It’s unfortunate that Fred got hurt, but it’s also an opportunity for me to be able to expand and get better while I can before he gets back.”

The dust has nearly settled in the seventh week of the 2025 NFL season and there were some massive games on the docket that saw Super Bowl contenders pick up huge victories.

Two teams that came to mind were the Philadelphia Eagles and the Denver Broncos. The two matched up a couple of weeks ago but entered Week 7 with victory on the mind.

The Eagles saw Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown on the right page as they hooked up for two touchdowns in their win over the Minnesota Vikings. The Broncos needed to score 33 points in the fourth quarter but somehow pulled off a victory against the New York Giants.

Read below for the rest of the scoreboard for this week.

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Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025

• Cincinnati Bengals 33, Pittsburgh Steelers 31

Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025

• Los Angeles Rams 35, Jacksonville Jaguars 7
• Chicago Bears 26, New Orleans Saints 14
• Cleveland Browns 31, Miami Dolphins 6
• New England Patriots 31, Tennessee Titans 13
• Kansas City Chiefs 31, Las Vegas Raiders 0

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) tries to avoid a tackle from Minnesota Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson (55) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, in Minneapolis.  (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

PATRIOTS’ DRAKE MAYE MATCHES TOM BRADY FEAT IN WIN OVER TITANS

• Philadelphia Eagles 28, Minnesota Vikings 22
• Carolina Panthers 13, New York Jets 6
• Denver Broncos 33, New York Giants 32
• Indianapolis Colts 38, Los Angeles Chargers 24
• Dallas Cowboys 44, Washington Commanders 22
• Green Bay Packers 27, Arizona Cardinals 23
• San Francisco 49ers 20, Atlanta Falcons 10

Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz (3) celebrates after kicking the game winning field goal during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants in Denver, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025.  (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Monday, Oct. 20, 2025

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Detroit Lions
• Houston Texans @ Seattle Seahawks

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Liverpool slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat for the first time in 11 years as Manchester United won 2-1 on Sunday to end their near decade-long wait for victory at Anfield.

Harry Maguire’s 84th minute header secured back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time in Ruben Amorim’s tenure as United boss.

Twelve minutes from time, Cody Gakpo had cancelled out Bryan Mbeumo’s opener after just 61 seconds.

Defeat leaves Liverpool four points adrift of Arsenal at the top of the table and Arne Slot still searching for answers in how to get the right blend after splashing out nearly £450 million ($604 million) on new players in the transfer market.

United close to within two points of their historic rivals and up to ninth in the table to ease the pressure on Amorim after his biggest win in nearly a year in charge.

“It means everything. They had had the better of us over the last few years and it’s not been good for our club,” said Maguire.

“We have not given our fans enough days like today, so it has been a long time coming, coming to this ground and picking up three points.”

State of flux 

Liverpool had only lost one of the previous 14 Premier League meetings between the sides and United had not tasted victory at Anfield since the early days of Jurgen Klopp’s reign in January 2016.

However, the Reds are in a state of flux after transforming the squad that stormed to the title last season and the tragic loss of Diogo Jota, who died in a car accident in July.

“It is an interesting time because we have to stick together, not just us as players but as a club and the fans who want us to win,” said Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk.

“When things get tough, it is important we keep the mentality of being there for each other. It is a long season.”

After three consecutive defeats for the first time in Slot’s reign, Liverpool could barely have imagined a worse start.

Mbeumo sped past Van Dijk with ease before firing past Giorgi Mamardashvili from Amad Diallo’s pass after barely a minute.

Slot left £100 million signing Florian Wirtz on the bench for the second consecutive game as he looked in vain to find the right balance between defence and attack.

Gakpo should have levelled for the defending champions when he hit the post from Mohamed Salah’s through ball in Liverpool’s one flowing move of the first half.

However, it was United who should have been further in front by half-time.

Bruno Fernandes spurned a glorious chance to double the Red Devils’ lead when he hit the outside of the post when unmarked from the edge of the area.

At the other end, Senne Lammens was rarely troubled in the first 45 minutes, but produced a big save when called upon to deny Alexander Isak his first Premier League goal since joining Liverpool for a British transfer record £125 million.

A Gakpo deflected cross then came back off the post and the Dutchman rattled the woodwork for a third time early in the second half.

Defensive frailties 

Slot turned to his near £200 million in forward options off the bench as Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike were introduced on the hour mark to join Salah, Gakpo and Isak in a five-man attack.

Salah has scored more goals than any other player in this fixture, but his lack of form showed in a wild finish to slice wide with just Lammens to beat at the back post.

Liverpool’s wealth of attacking talent finally broke the door down when Federico Chiesa, who had replaced Isak moments earlier, drilled in a low cross that Gakpo converted from point blank range.

Yet, their defensive frailties meant parity only lasted six minutes as Maguire was left unmarked to head in Fernandes’s looping cross.

Gakpo should still have rescued a point when he headed wide with the goal gaping from Jeremie Frimpong’s inviting delivery.

But Liverpool fell to their first league defeat at Anfield in over a year in another blow to their hopes of usurping United with a record 21st English top-flight title.