Christian McCaffrey continues to be sorely missed by the San Francisco 49ers. Without the superstar, the team is worryingly weak in the red zone and negligently jeopardizing their season goals – a commentary.

2-3 record after week five.

Last season’s Super Bowl participant, the San Francisco 49ers, are currently faltering alarmingly. Despite a 13-point lead at halftime, they also lost to the Arizona Cardinals 23-24.

And that despite the team being full of stars like wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, and tight end George Kittle, who scored the offense’s only touchdown on Sunday.

Nevertheless, quarterback Brock Purdy’s team is currently struggling to put points on the scoreboard at all, apart from field goals.

Against the “Cards”, just one of six drives into the opponent’s red zone, i.e. the 20 yards in front of the goal line, led to a touchdown. A devastating record, but the problem is not new, it has already been indicated and raises significant questions regarding personnel planning.

San Francisco 49ers: Christian McCaffrey is missing at every turn

It cannot be emphasized enough: the “Niners” are only a shadow of themselves without their superstar Christian McCaffrey.

Can the franchise even be considered a contender in the absence of the 28-year-old, who is expected to be out at least until November? After the experiences of the last few weeks, the answer is a clear “no”!

According to the statistics portal “TeamRankings.com”, the number of touchdowns after drives into the red zone has fallen below 50 percent after five regular season games and is currently at just 40.91 percent. This means third from last in the NFL, only ahead of the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots.

A huge drop, considering that the 49ers had the best offense in the league in terms of red zone efficiency last season, scoring a touchdown in 68 percent of their attempts.

San Francisco’s head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about these problems before the Cardinals game, but he avoided the question. Speaking to “NBC Sports”, the coach emphasized that there is “never a common denominator. There are always a lot of variables.”

Jordan Mason is not enough – 49ers need McCaffrey replacement!

But that’s exactly where the problem lies. The 49ers should have been acting on the latest medical reports about McCaffrey and signing at least a reasonably adequate replacement. With the current personnel, the team is in danger of total collapse; there can be no question of competing in the Super Bowl again at the moment.

Jordan Mason, who was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022, cannot be the solution. Although the 24-year-old has put up solid numbers so far when leading the team on runs (105 rushes, 536 rushing yards, 5.1 yards/rush), the inexperienced running back’s problems become more than apparent just before the end zone.

Against Arizona, Mason made a costly mistake in the fourth quarter near the goal line when he fumbled the ball at the 8-yard line. Instead of scoring points, the Cardinals were able to score the decisive points with a field goal to win.

Of course, no one in the league can keep up with McCaffrey’s huge workload and crazy numbers week after week. Only three rushing touchdowns after five days of play from his backup, Mason, against by no means the absolute top teams – at least not yet the Minnesota Vikings, sorry – should be alarming enough to finally take action.

And beyond that: Who says that McCaffrey, after his return, can once again be the workhorse from game one and literally sweep the problems off the field overnight? San Francisco is in danger of burning its hands with its current behavior.