Over the past two days, San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa and general manager John Lynch have each noted that Thursday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks is not technically a “must-win,” even if it feels like it after the Week 5 blunder against the Cardinals. The stakes are indeed high for running back Jordan Mason, though, who is on the verge of a peak in this breakout season he’s having.
Since the start of the regular season, Mason has had the unenviable task of replacing Christian McCaffrey, the dynamic reigning Offensive Player of the Year who is on injured reserve. The third-year undrafted free agent from Georgia Tech has surpassed expectations, establishing himself as statistically one of the top backs in the league. He boasts the second-most rushing yards, the second-most yards from scrimmage — both totals behind only an utterly dominant Derrick Henry in Baltimore — and the third-highest yards-per-game average in the league.
Mason is also doing this in the final year of his rookie contract, meaning his production not only helps his team now but also should help his wallet later when it comes time to negotiate. But the clock is ticking on how much longer Mason will be able to pad his resume ahead of next offseason. The 49ers finally got some good news on McCaffrey’s bilateral Achilles tendinitis last week, when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the injury “did not flare up after on-field work this week.” McCaffrey also became eligible to return to the team’s lineup after Sunday’s game against Arizona, having hit the four-game mark on the IR list.
While it’s not yet clear when exactly McCaffrey will suit up for the Niners again — he wasn’t activated for the Seahawks game despite being eligible — it’s safe to assume that his return to the field will naturally yield fewer touches for Mason, regardless of how long it takes McCaffrey to get back into the swing of things. Mason has done enough to show he can hold his own, and then some, in the NFL, but any limit on how much he can showcase between now and the end of the season could dampen his potential earnings.
That’s why Thursday’s game in Seattle might be the most important game of Mason’s season, if not his career. The Niners are in the midst of an early-season spiral that seems a bit more concerning than ones that have happened in the past and are in desperate need of a bounceback. The Seahawks are reeling after their own tough loss last Sunday and are depleted defensively. It’s perhaps one of the last times Mason can really hunker down to be The Man from the backfield and dominate not just a regular opponent but a division rival. Doing so would show that he can ball out and that his performances can help a floundering team with championship aspirations.
Mason will have other opportunities to put up some solid performances — Week 8 against the porous Cowboys run defense comes to mind — but with each passing week, the odds of McCaffrey returning go up, meaning the number of carries Mason will get will surely go down. If it’s all downhill from here, then it’s time for the Jordan Mason show to have its biggest episode yet.