CMC could benefit most from rest in Week 18 vs. Rams

LANDOVER, Md. — Coach Kyle Shanahan will not be able to rest every player who could use a break at this point in the season. But the fact the 49ers on Sunday clinched the NFC's top playoff seed with one game remaining in the regular season is exactly what the doctor ordered. "It's huge," Shanahan said following the 49ers' 27-10 victory over the Washington Commanders. "These last couple weeks, we've been a little banged up. There've been a couple positions where we're real thin at. Guys had to push through at a number of spots. The guys who've been doing that, hopefully, this will help them out." Running back Christian McCaffrey likely is at the top of the list of players who can use the next three weeks to refresh. McCaffrey sustained a right calf strain in the third quarter on Sunday. "I'm not sure what happened," he said. "It was pretty minor. I was having a hard time pushing off. And just for precautionary reasons, it'd be better to just rest it. "I will always play if I can. I think it was minor and just made the smart move, especially not knowing what was going to happen next week. I didn't want to go in there and make it any worse." Backup Elijah Mitchell took over with...