The San Francisco 49ers' offense is looking to get back on track after an underwhelming showing in the nail-biting divisional round win over the Green Bay Packers, and many believe the attack's hopes of a strong showing in the NFC Championship Game that sends San Francisco to the Super Bowl hinge on the availability of Deebo Samuel.

Samuel missed Wednesday's practice with a shoulder injury suffered early in the 24-21 win over Green Bay but was seen working on a side field at the 49ers' practice facility.

If Samuel is cleared to play, the 49ers would appear to be in excellent shape to thrive on offense against a Lions defense that struggled significantly in the passing game in the regular season, finishing 25th in dropback Expected Points Added per play.

No defense in the NFL allowed more pass plays of 20 yards or more in the regular season than the 69 given up by Detroit, with the Lions defense giving up 300 yards passing in each of its last five games including the postseason.

Yet the Lions also created the fifth most negative yardage for opposing offenses, their negative plays forced totaling minus 505 yards.

When asked about a cornerback group that appears vulnerable to the 49ers' star-studded offense, Shanahan was quick to warn about the dangers of going against an aggressive and boom-bust defense.

"They play with their defense. They make some plays. Their whole defense, you see in numbers, and you see 31st I think in the pass game, but then when you watch the tape, you kind of realize how they are," Shanahan said.

"They're aggressive in what they do. They mix everything up, which makes them susceptible to big plays, but they're also fourth in causing negatives. I think they're leading the league in the last five games in turnovers, if not top five or something like that.

"They're a team that really is very aggressive in what they do, which is going to make you hit or miss. But they cause more negative plays than I think anyone in the NFL. I want to say it was fourth on the whole year. They tie right into that."

Deebo Samuel gives 49ers hope even as he misses practice

Cause for optimism.