"Sunday Night Football" is quickly approaching, and the San Francisco 49ers appear to be trending in the right direction health wise with one day left in the practice week.
On Thursday, the team had four of its players back on the field. Running back Christian McCaffrey and All Pro left tackle Trent Williams returned to workouts after taking a veteran rest day while linebacker Dre Greenlaw (ankle) and cornerback Charvarius Ward (heel) were limited with their respective injuries. Wide receivers Deebo Samuel Sr. (ribs, knee) and Jauan Jennings (shin) also participated in a limited capacity for a second-straight day.
McCaffrey, who is coming off a four-touchdown performance against the Arizona Cardinals, benefited from the extra day of recovery.
"My body feels great," McCaffrey said. "Even when you take the off day, all the trainers and strength and conditioning coaches do a good job of moving you and keeping you in shape. At the same time, getting a little day off once in a while feels great on your body."
Having the NFL's leading rusher feeling fresh midway through the week bodes well for the 49ers who will face one of the league's most formidable run defenses. Factoring out the Cowboys Week 3 loss to the Cardinals, Dallas has given up an average of 75 yards per game on the ground. McCaffrey has only had one game in which he hasn't hit 100 rushing yards on his own. It's one of the matchups to watch come Sunday.
"Any time you're playing a team like this, you have to come ready to go and just be about executing," McCaffrey said.
Last season in the NFC Divisional Round game, the 49ers do-it-all back logged 10 carries for 35 yards and touchdown to help San Francisco secure the 19-12 win. McCaffrey says his game planning for the Week 5 game entails some looking back to that January matchup, but it's just one piece of the preparation.
"You'll look at last year's tape, a little bit of it, look at the games they've had this year and take notes off of everything," McCaffrey said. "Really, each week is a new week. I try to treat it that way."
