San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey celebrates after scoring against the Miami Dolphins during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Kelley L. Cox)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers handled the return from Australia just as well as the trip there and have started the season with two convincing victories.

Christian McCaffrey became the fourth-fastest player in the Super Bowl era with 100 career touchdowns, Brock Purdy played a near-perfect game and the 49ers overwhelmed the Miami Dolphins 35-13 on Sunday.

The 49ers showed no signs of fatigue after beating the Los Angeles Rams 27-7 in the opener in Australia and began the season with back-to-back wins of at least 20 points for the first time in franchise history.

“That’s what I was real proud of the guys,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “That was the biggest challenge of this, just the human nature of what all went into Week 1 and the travel and everything and coming back after five days off. ... But we got a really cool team in terms of how much guys care about football how into it they are.”

The 49ers scored touchdowns on their first five drives and dominated the Dolphins, who spent the week since losing the opener in Las Vegas by practicing in nearby Napa.

Avoiding the travel was little help to an overmatched Miami team that came into the season with a record of more than $180 million in dead money on the salary cap.

Purdy went 20 for 22 for 287 yards, two touchdown passes and one TD run, completing 18 straight passes at one point. He connected on a 12-yard touchdown pass to George Kittle and a 6-yarder to Kyle Juszczyk on the first two drives of the third quarter to break the game open.

“For me, every play, every drive mattered. It wasn’t like we went out there and just blew these guys out. It was a game. and ... That where my head space was at. How can I move the ball, take the right looks and keep us ahead of the chains. That’s what my mindset is at.”

McCaffrey scored on a pair of 1-yard runs to give him 100 touchdowns in 114 games, with only LaDainian Tomlinson (89 games), Emmitt Smith (93) and Shaun Alexander (96) getting their faster in the Super Bowl era.

McCaffrey, who has 50 touchdowns with both Carolina and San Francisco, joined Marshall Faulk and Randy Moss as the only players to score at least 50 TDs with two franchises.

“It’s kind of crazy to hear that,” McCaffrey said. “I watched all those guys growing up. Marshall Faulk was somebody that I’ve probably seen every single snap he’s played. I don’t take it for granted. Randy Moss I played with a ton of time with Madden growing up. Those are huge, huge honors.”

Malik Willis went 14 for 23 for 197 yards for Miami but took four sacks and was unable to lead a touchdown drive until his 77-yard pass to Ryan Miller with 2:30 remaining in the game.

“They’ve got great players who are experienced and have been running this system for a very long time,” said Miami coach Jeff Hafley, who was an assistant for the 49ers in Shanahan's first two seasons in 2017-18. “When I saw Kittle and Juice after the game, they were here when I was here in 2017. So great players, great play-caller, consistency and continuity in one scheme over time usually equals success. That’s a really good team.”

Both defenses struggled to get off the field in the first half with the main difference being the Niners finished off their drives with touchdowns. Riley Patterson missed a 51-yard field goal on Miami's opening drive and the Dolphins settled for two field goals in the red zone on their other two possessions in the first half.

San Francisco got in the end zone with McCaffrey scoring on a 1-yard run and Purdy on a 2-yard run on the two drives for the 49ers, who led 14-6 at the half.

Injuries

Dolphins: RB Jaylen Wright (stinger) left in the first half. ... WR Caleb Douglas (ankle) left in the second half.

49ers: WR Demarcus Robinson and DT James Thompson Jr. left with what Shanahan believes were high ankle injuries and could miss some time. ... WR Mike Evans left in the second half with a hip injury but likely could have returned if the game had been closer.

Up next

Dolphins: Host Kansas City on Sunday.

49ers: Host Arizona on Sunday.

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