Christian McCaffrey leads the 49ers against his former Panthers team on Monday night

Christian McCaffrey faced his former team, the Carolina Panthers, for the first time since moving to the San Francisco 49ers in 2022.

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

The 49ers (8-4) are now firmly in the NFC playoff picture, while the Panthers (6-6) missed a chance to seize the top spot in the NFC South.

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While McCaffrey shined in his prime, it was a tough night for both quarterbacks.

Brock Purdy, who had thrown three touchdowns in his return the previous week, struggled with turnovers, throwing three interceptions on consecutive possessions in the first half.

San Francisco opened strong with a 15-play, 75-yard drive, capped by Purdy’s short pass to Jauan Jennings, who fought through three Panthers defenders to score. But after a quick three-pointer for the Panthers, Purdy’s first pass on the next series was picked off by Jaycee Horn, giving Carolina the ball on San Francisco’s 16-yard line.

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But tonight wasn’t just about Purdy’s turnovers, Young had some issues as well.

On first-and-goal from the 1, Young appeared to have room to run toward the pylon, but instead tried to pass the ball to tight end Mitchell Evans. Ji’Ayir Brown was there to snag the interception in the end zone and save Purdy from his earlier miss.

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 fullback. On the replay, tight end George Kittle appeared to be wide open and may have scored on a short pass, but Purdy was looking for the big play on the throw.

Then Purdy was really kicking himself after Horne got his second interception of the game – a smart play as he roamed freely in midfield and Purdy simply didn’t 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.

It was just 10-3 at halftime, but the 49ers finally got McCaffrey into the end zone in the third quarter against his former team. The 12-yard touchdown run capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive by San Francisco, in which the star running back got key blocks from Kittle and linebacker Kyle Juszczyk to get into the end zone.

McCaffrey finished the game with 89 receiving yards and seven catches for 53 yards.

The Panthers weren’t completely out of the game despite the 17-3 deficit, thanks to rookie receiver Tetiroa McMillan hitting a 29-yard score from Young with 49 seconds left in the third quarter to make it a 17-9 game after a failed two-point conversion.

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 through the middle intended for McMillan, and Young threw the ball directly to him.

The interception nearly froze the game, as Ryan Fitzgerald missed a 57-yard field goal with 2:47 remaining in the fourth quarter during the Panthers’ desperate bid for points.

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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 catches.

For the Panthers, Rico Dowdle, Chuba Hubbard and Young combined for just 69 yards, although Dowdle had four catches for 36 yards. Hubbard added four catches for 27 yards.

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