There was an overriding theme in the words of every San Francisco 49ers player who spoke after clinching the one seed in the NFC, and that was one of delight at the opportunity to rest.

With a first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs secured, the 49ers will be resting some starters in their now meaningless Week 18 game with the Los Angeles Rams, meaning those who are kept out of the regular-season finale will get two weeks to heal from an arduous regular season before their playoff campaign.

Christian McCaffrey is almost certain to be among those players. The 49ers' do-it-all running back and Offensive Player of the Year favorite sat out most of the second half of their 27-10 win over the Washington Commanders on New Year's Eve because of a calf issue.

It is not believed to be a serious problem, but the 49ers have no reason to risk a player who has been a remarkably reliable and explosive workhorse in 2023. The Niners need McCaffrey, with his incredible impact on the running game and the passing attack, fresh and ready for their Divisional Round playoff game.

After touching the ball a league-leading 339 times in the regular season, McCaffrey is glad for the opportunity to watch from the sideline for a game and then take in the first round of the playoffs from home.

That chance came thanks to the combination of the 49ers' victory and the Philadelphia Eagles' stunning home loss to the Arizona Cardinals, with McCaffrey extremely grateful to a team he tormented this season, scoring seven touchdowns against Arizona in two games with San Francisco's NFC West rivals.

"That means the world, so shout out to the Cardinals. I appreciate you guys," McCaffrey said. "That was huge. I think we all need rest. I know that I need rest, so I'm excited to just take a breath and get everything back to normal."

McCaffrey is widely regarded for his determination to play as much as possible, but the two-time first-team All-Pro made the wise decision not to risk aggravating his injury at a late juncture in the season in a game the 49ers controlled almost throughout.

"I'm not sure what happened. It was pretty minor," he added. "I was just having a hard time pushing off and just for precautionary reasons, they said that 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 with not knowing what is going to happen next week, I didn't want to go in there and make it any worse."

Now McCaffrey has plenty of time to make sure the injury is fully healed and, if he is back to his devastating best in the second week of the postseason, the Cardinals will be able to claim to at least some of the credit.

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