SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Like a perfect game in baseball, San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey has tried his best not to talk about his streak of consecutive games scoring a touchdown. But his aversion to speaking about it had nothing to do with jinxes on Sunday night.
McCaffrey recorded a milestone against the Cincinnati Bengals at Levi's Stadium, scoring a touchdown in his 17th consecutive game. That ties him with Lenny Moore, the Baltimore Colts Hall of Fame running back/receiver, for the longest such streak in NFL history. Moore's stretched over the 1963 and 1964 seasons.
But that individual accomplishment was far from top of mind for McCaffrey after the Niners fell 31-17, dropping their third straight game after winning their first five.
"We play this game to win," McCaffrey said. "Obviously. those things are cool, but those get forgotten about. We want to win."
The record-tying score came with 3:19 left in the first quarter when McCaffrey hit pay dirt from 2 yards out. It was McCaffrey's 12th touchdown from scrimmage this season, tying him with Miami Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert for most in the league. McCaffrey would add another score on a 4-yard catch in the fourth quarter to move past Mostert with 13 TDs.
With a score through the air and on the ground, McCaffrey also moved closer to another mark. He now has 14 career regular-season games with a receiving touchdown and a rushing score in the same contest, which is the second most all time and only one behind the record of 15 set by Marshall Faulk.
After the loss, McCaffrey credited his teammates for his ascent up the record books.
"Anytime you score, it's a team score," McCaffrey said. "O-line out there blocking, receivers blocking, quarterback has got to get you the ball. So, win as a team, lose as a team, score as a team, all that."
LaDainian Tomlinson's regular-season consecutive touchdown record is also within reach. Tomlinson scored in 18 games in a row spread over the 2004 and 2005 seasons but did not score in a playoff game following the 2004 season. McCaffrey's regular-season streak is now at 14 consecutive games.
On Thursday, McCaffrey was asked about the streak but appeared to be a bit superstitious about it, declining to expand on his answers.
"We just got to keep it going," McCaffrey said. "I try not to talk about it. Yeah, just not talk about it. Keep it rolling."
But Niners coach Kyle Shanahan offered his thoughts on McCaffrey's streak.
"He's unbelievable at it," Shanahan said. "I think he's done it since I heard about it growing up in Denver, to college, to whatever team he's on. He knows how to get the end zone."
McCaffrey will have to wait a couple of weeks to try to break Moore's streak and tie Faulk's, as the Niners have their bye before playing at the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 12.