Field Level Media

San Francisco 49ers star Christian McCaffrey, hybrid receiver Deebo Samuel and running back Elijah Mitchell sat out practice on Wednesday as they nursed their respective injuries.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan, however, told reporters that he expects McCaffrey (calf), Samuel (ankle) and Mitchell (groin) to play in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

“I expect them (to play), but there’s no guarantees,” Shanahan said on Wednesday. “Especially with it being an NFC Championship Game, I think there’s a better chance they’ll be ready since there’s nothing guaranteed after this. Hopefully, we’ll keep our fingers crossed.”

Shanahan initially deemed McCaffrey and Mitchell as day-to-day on Monday, one day after the 49ers’ 19-12 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

Shanahan also addressed the availability of defensive end Charles Omenihu (oblique) for Sunday’s game. Omenihu was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence on Monday after police were called to his home in San Jose, Calif.

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“We’ve looked into it for the last 24 hours or 48 hours, not necessarily myself but other people,” Shanahan said. “We feel very good letting the legal process take care of itself. Don’t feel we should kick him off our team at this time.”

The NFL confirmed that Omenihu will remain available and that the case will be reviewed down the line.

“The matter will be reviewed under the league’s personal conduct policy. There is no change to his status,” the league’s statement said.

Omenihu, 25, has recorded career-best totals in tackles (20) and sacks (4.5) in 17 games (three starts) this season. He also had two sacks and a forced fumble in San Francisco’s 41-23 win over the Seattle Seahawks in the wild-card round.

McCaffrey, 26, rushed for 746 yards and six touchdowns and caught 52 passes for 464 yards and four scores in 11 regular-season games for the 49ers after being acquired from the Carolina Panthers in mid-October. He was superb in the NFC wild-card round when he gained 119 yards on 15 carries and added a TD catch.

Mitchell, 24, was limited to five regular-season games due to two knee injuries — one to each knee — and had 279 yards and two touchdowns. He had just 2 yards on nine carries versus Seattle but had a touchdown grab among his two catches for 25 yards.

Samuel, 27, had 56 catches for 632 yards and two touchdowns and 42 carries for 232 yards and three scores in 13 games this season. He had six receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown in the wild-card game versus Seattle. –Field Level Media

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By Matt Barrows, David Lombardi and Doug Haller

Christian McCaffrey scored four touchdowns to help the San Francisco 49ers to a 35-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday. Here’s what you need to know:

• McCaffrey rushed for two TDs and found the end zone for the third time on a 6-yard pass from Brock Purdy in the first half. The 49ers (4-0) tailback added a third rushing TD in the fourth quarter.
• McCaffrey became the fourth player since 1990 to score a touchdown in 13 consecutive games. He came into Sunday’s matchup as the NFL’s leading rusher with 353 yards. He added 106 rushing yards Sunday, along with seven receptions for 71 yards.
• Meanwhile, Purdy only had one incomplete pass in the win. He went 20-of-21 passing for 283 yards with one TD pass for a 134.6 passer rating. Purdy added a fourth-quarter rushing TD.
• Cardinals (1-3) quarterback Josh Dobbs went 28-of-41 passing for 265 yards with two TD passes for a 102.2 passer rating.

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The Athletic’s instant analysis:

McCaffrey dominates

This was another dominant performance from McCaffrey, who continues to give the 49ers the tremendous luxury of fielding a safety valve who’s also one of the most explosive threats in the NFL. McCaffrey scored four touchdowns, including a hurdling highlight over Arizona cornerback Kei’Trel Clark. After Sunday’s 106-yard performance, McCaffrey remains the league’s leading rusher through four games. His seven catches for 71 yards were also instrumental in making matters look easy for the 49ers’ offense, which faced only five third-down situations all game.

Purdy, whose 20-of-21 outing (95.2 percent) broke Alex Smith’s franchise record for single-game completion percentage, was certainly a co-driver of the 49ers’ precise offensive effort. But the immense threat of McCaffrey in all phases of the attack fits to perfection in Kyle Shanahan’s system. — Lombardi

Purdy stays strong

It was another ultra-efficient game for Purdy, who didn’t throw an incompletion until the 10:48 mark in the third quarter. Purdy didn’t have No. 3 receiver Jauan Jennings at his disposal and Deebo Samuel may not have been 100 percent either. He wasn’t targeted in the passing game. It didn’t matter on a talent-laden 49ers offense. Purdy essentially alternated between short passes to McCaffrey and long ones to Brandon Aiyuk throughout the game. Aiyuk, who missed last week’s game against the Giants due to a shoulder injury, caught all six targets and finished with a career-high 148 receiving yards. — Barrows

Cardinals stay true to run game

Though the Cardinals fell behind 21-3 early on, they never abandoned James Conner and the running game. The approach helped keep the chains moving and kept the 49ers from teeing off on Dobbs. The Cardinals also had converted seven of 12 third-down attempts until Javon Hargrave’s third-down sack midway through the fourth quarter. It was Hargrave’s third sack of the season (tying him with Drake Jackson for the team lead) but San Francisco’s only sack of the contest. — Barrows

49ers defense has roller-coaster day

It was a tale of three stretches for the 49ers’ defense, which looked great early before Arizona converted a fourth down on a fake punt late in the first half. The Cardinals’ offense dominated over two long touchdown drives after that, but the 49ers’ defense rediscovered stability thanks to complementary football — its offense re-opened a comfortable lead in the third quarter.

Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, the 49ers’ two speedy linebackers, combined for 20 tackles (10 apiece) in yet another strong effort.

It certainly wasn’t perfect for the 49ers on that side of the ball, as Arizona was able to deflate San Francisco’s pass rush with its effective run game. But the 49ers generally kept the Cardinals in front of them and did enough for their offense to pull away for another multiscore victory. That’s a winning formula. — Lombardi

What we learned about the Cardinals

Arizona is better than expected, but the Cardinals aren’t ready to challenge a Super Bowl contender like San Francisco. That was clear Sunday. A 99-yard drive to pull within 21-16 late in the third quarter was the day’s highlight, but the 49ers quickly regrouped and flexed, scoring the game’s final 14 points.

With Kyler Murray weeks from returning, this could be a defining stretch. The Cardinals’ next four games are against the Cincinnati Bengals, at the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks, and against the Baltimore Ravens. Their best play is to focus on improvement and stay as close to .500 as possible until Murray returns. Despite Sunday’s outcome, that isn’t too far-fetched. A month ago no one would have agreed. — Haller

Wilson emerging as a bright spot

The Cardinals have found something in Michael Wilson. The rookie from Stanford had impressive skills entering the draft but he battled injuries throughout his college career. It made him difficult to evaluate. Arizona took Wilson in the third round and he has been better than expected. In last week’s win over Dallas, Wilson had Arizona’s biggest offensive play, a key 69-yard catch that led to a fourth-quarter touchdown. In Sunday’s loss to San Francisco, Wilson had seven catches for 76 yards. After the Cardinals in May released DeAndre Hopkins, it wasn’t clear who would emerge as a top target alongside Hollywood Brown. Through four games, Wilson has been that guy. — Haller

Required reading

(Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)

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While it’s a bit of hyperbole to say Christian McCaffrey is the biggest get for the 49ers ever, there’s little doubt he turned the Niners’ season around.

Trailing 14-10 at halftime in what was essentially a must-win road game against the Los Angeles Rams, the San Francisco 49ers desperately needed someone to take over the game and more.

A year ago, this would have been asked of wide receiver Deebo Samuel. However, due to a hamstring injury, Samuel wasn’t available for Week 8 and was watching from the sidelines.

Instead, all the Niners needed was for their new and shiny midseason addition, All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey, to have his own “do it all” performance where he’d take over a game.

Three touchdowns later — a rushing one, a receiving one and even a passing one — it’s safe to say McCaffrey delivered.

Yes, the cost San Francisco spent to get McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers was expensive. However, in one game that could have seen the 49ers fall to an abysmal 3-5 or climb back to 4-4, this awe-inspiring performance essentially turned the Niners’ season around.

Both in terms of on-field production and the momentum needed to carry head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad beyond the bye week and through the second half.

Sure, San Francisco overcame a 3-5 start a season ago. But it took some tremendous desperation and a good deal of luck for the 49ers to get into the playoffs before managing to work up to the NFC Championship game where those same Rams ultimately pulled off a rare victory over Shanahan and Co.

Perhaps McCaffrey will be the difference now, but it’s a lot better trying again with a 4-4 record in the book than a 3-5 one.

Let’s take note of some other Niners news from around the league.

“While the three scores are going to capture most people’s attention, McCaffrey’s presence was felt in myriad ways.Against the Rams, the Niners converted 5-of-9 third downs. McCaffrey was responsible for two of the conversions. On first down, McCaffrey touched the ball 16 times and averaged 5.6 yards, setting up manageable and ideal play-action situations for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.To that point, it’s no coincidence Garoppolo enjoyed the most efficient day of his season, completing 21-of-25 passes for 235 yards (9.4 YPA) and two touchdowns with zero turnovers.”

Last rank: 19th, This rank: 13th

“Kyle Shanahan’s club was looking to sweep the Rams during the regular season for the fourth consecutive year. The 49ers spotted Los Angeles a 7-0 lead and then it turned into the Christian McCaffrey Show.He would throw a 34-yard TD pass to Brandon Aiyuk, total 18 carries for 94 yards and one score and caught eight passes for 85 yards and another touchdown. Down 14-7 in the second quarter, the Niners scored the final 24 points of the game.”

“Should Beckham join the Niners, he’d be a third-fiddle player behind Samuel and Aiyuk, and that doesn’t even include McCaffrey’s own pass-catching prowess.However, at least based on how San Francisco handled Los Angeles in Week 8 to the tune of a 31-14 victory, Beckham could easily have a better shot at winning another Super Bowl with the 49ers instead of the Rams.”

“The well-documented history between the Shanahans and the McCaffreys made it so there were never going to be many surprises after Kyle acquired Christian—even if his ability to get himself up to speed was eye-opening. By now, you’ve probably heard that the coach, as a teenager, used to babysit his new tailback, and that Kyle looked up to, and modeled himself after, Ed as a Broncos ball boy and aspiring high school receiver, to the point where he wore No. 87 in college in tribute to him.”

“John McVay, the executive who helped launch the San Francisco 49ers’ dynasty and grandfather of Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay, has died. He was 91.The 49ers announced Tuesday that McVay had died.”

““One of the things Mike [McDaniel] wanted to share is he knows how special Jeff is to us,” Lynch said. “He wanted to assure us that he’d take good care of him. Mike’s a great dude. And part of this is you have to make great decisions for your team, but you also try to take care of guys that take care of you.”“I’m not saying that Jeff demanded to be traded or anything, but I think, given the situation, if we could find the right situation for him … he wanted that opportunity.””

“History is not much of an indicator as to how the Niners will look in two weeks against the Chargers. Kyle Shanahan is 2-3 after the bye in his career. Yesterday he acknowledged that while it might be frustrating to have to take a week off after that kind of offensive performance, it’s probably best for the team as a whole.”

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