While many San Francisco 49ers players will take a break during the bye week after a morale-boosting win against the Dallas Cowboys, this week could significantly affect the rest of the season.
Star running back Christian McCaffrey will step up his rehab after missing all season due to Achilles tendinitis and could return next week if everything goes well.
“He’s had no setbacks, so it looks like we’re on track,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday. “But we’re going to, he’s going to hit it hard this week while we’re gone and kind of simulate some practice stuff for himself. As long as it all goes good, hopefully we’ll get him back in practice next week.”
Getting McCaffrey back would give an even bigger boost than the 30-24 victory over the Cowboys that brought the 49ers (4-4) to a .500 record and set them up for a strong second half of the season.
This is the third year in a row that San Francisco has a Week 9 bye, and the 49ers are hoping to repeat what happened in the past two seasons. In those years, they had a 9-7 record before the bye but went on to finish 16-2 in the second half, leading to deep playoff runs.
San Francisco showed signs of returning to form on Sunday against the Cowboys, with the offense racking up 223 rushing yards, the defense intercepting Dak Prescott twice, and special teams avoiding the costly mistakes that had hurt them in previous losses.
“I think we all wish our record was a little bit better, but that’s just where it is,” tight end George Kittle said. “That’s our reality. Getting a win tonight was huge and it gives you confidence. I think there’s a lot of things that we’re going to try to clean up, myself included. I think we’re taking steps in the right direction.”
