The San Francisco 49ers will go up against the favorite for the MVP award when they face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is the frontrunner to win MVP after helping the Eagles to a 10-1 start. However, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan believes one of his players should be in the conversation, and it isn't Brock Purdy.

Quarterback Purdy, pet betonline.ag, is fifth favorite for the award at +800, two spots ahead of running back Christian McCaffrey (+1600).

McCaffrey has arguably been as valuable to the 49ers' success as Purdy. He leads the NFL with 939 rushing yards, has 1,328 yards from scrimmage, while his 16 touchdowns are also the most in the NFL.

Heading into Week 13, McCaffrey was second in DYAR, a measure of total value, among all running backs for rushes and first by the same metric as a pass-catching back.

Despite his production and efficiency, it's highly unlikely McCaffrey will be the MVP, though his candidacy has the full support of his head coach.

Asked if McCaffrey should be a more prominent part of the MVP conversation, Shanahan told a press conference on Friday: "Yeah, I think without a doubt. 

"I know it goes to quarterbacks the majority of the time, and there’s plenty of worthy quarterbacks, but you definitely can’t say that Christian’s behind anyone. He's as valuable in this league as anyone."

The undisputed focal point of the 49er offense, there is no doubting his importance to San Francisco.

Despite all his remarkable exploits this season, including tying the record for the most consecutive games (regular and postseason) with a touchdown, McCaffrey would still likely need a huge display against the Eagles to be legitimately considered as a contender to be the first non-quarterback MVP since 2012.

McCaffrey has only once failed to score a touchdown this season. With a rushing touchdown against the Eagles, McCaffrey will join Hall of Famers Marshall Faulk and Lenny Moore as only the third player in NFL history to tally 50 rushing scores and 25 touchdown receptions.

If he can achieve that feat as part of a decisive effort in a huge game with the Eagles, McCaffrey's odds will be much improved. Should he maintain his superb production and help the 49ers enter the playoffs as the number one seed in the NFC ahead of the Eagles, McCaffrey might at least be in a position where he could at least get some votes.

Final 49ers injury report for Week 13, at Eagles

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