Aaron Banks strained shoulder vs. Cowboys

The final score of 42-10 belied the physicality of the opponent in the 49ers’ blowout win over the Dallas Cowboys.

But the 49ers these days are all about good news, and that was the case Monday in the aftermath of the club’s fifth 5-0 start in franchise history.

The 49ers take to the road in Week 6 to face Cleveland (2-2), which is coming off a bye.

The big concern was initially reported as a right biceps injury for guard Aaron Banks, who along with tackle Trent Williams has comprised one of the formidable left sides in the NFL.

Upon further review, Banks’ injury wasn’t to his biceps, which could have meant a long absence.

“Banks ended up being a shoulder, a mild strain, he’ll be day to day,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said in a conference call with local media. “Any time it’s a biceps, you’re obviously nervous about it, and it’s still an injury but not as bad as it could have been.”

Running back Christian McCaffrey, meanwhile, apparently made it through the Dallas game unscathed. McCaffrey gained 51 yards on 19 carries and paid for every yard he got against a Cowboys defense that had him in its sights. He also caught two passes for 19 yards.

McCaffrey was twice the subject of physicality with a major wince factor — a facemask on his first carry which jerked his head around and a helmet-to-helmet hit while on a pass route.

“I was talking to him after the game and he was all right and had no reports from the training staff today,” Shanahan said. “But yeah, they were bringing it. They were ready for that game and they hit hard. They didn’t shy away from anything . . . and Christian doesn’t shy away from anything either.”

Shanahan was willing to absolve Dallas and anyone else of malicious intent regarding McCaffrey through five games simply because he understands what they’re up against in defending him.

“I don’t think teams are trying to hit him in the helmet or facemask him,” Shanahan said. “I think people are desperate on how to bring him down . . . when you’ve got a really great player such as Christian, who is fearless, guys are doing everything they can to try and stop him and sometimes when they do that they get penalties for it.”

McCaffrey lost a fumble near the goal line, but also scored on a 2-yard run, his 14th consecutive game with a touchdown counting last season’s playoffs. It wasn’t a statistical night on par with the first four games, but Shanahan had no complaints.

“I thought Christian ran so hard in that game, and he tried to bring it on them every chance he got and had some real good tough runs,” Shanahan said. “There was one I thought we were going to lose three yards and he got five. There was a third-and-2 I thought was blocked for one and he got two-and-a-half. He did some really hard running.”

With Jordan Mason gaining 69 yards on 10 carries capped by a 26-yard touchdown run, Deebo Samuel getting 30 on five attempts and Ty Davis-Price getting 21 yards on six carries, the 49ers rushed 41 times for 170 yards.

McCaffrey still leads the NFL with 510 yards rushing.

And more good news could be on the way. Elijah Mitchell, who has missed the last two games with a knee injury, is day-to-day and could be available this week. Also available will be newly acquired defensive end Randy Gregory, who arrived by trade from Denver last Friday.

Latest on the Brockstar

It’s not the quality of the throws and decisions quarterback Brock Purdy is making that amazes Shanahan as much as the frequency of both.

“He does it all the time, but to just continue to do it at such a high rate has been pretty unbelievable, how many plays he’s made and how many plays he hasn’t made for the other team,” Shanahan said. “The consistency with that is what has been the most impressive.”

Purdy leads the NFL with a 69.3 completion percentage and a passer rating of 123.1. By point of comparison, Steve Young completed a career-best 70.3 percent of his passes and had a career-best passer rating of 112.8 in 1994, and Joe Montana was at 70.2 with a career-best passer rating of 112.4 in 1989. Each was named the NFL’s MVP in those seasons.

Lenoir continues to excel

Deommodore Lenoir has proved to be a steady presence with playmaking ability playing opposite Charvarius Ward at cornerback.

Lenoir’s night against Dallas included a deflection that resulted in an interception by Fred Warner.

The third-year veteran is feeling it too, believing he is playing on the best team in the NFL.

“When you look at that game, you look at other teams, it’s not even close,” Lenoir said. “I even try to give people the benefit of the doubt but it’s not close.”

A fifth-round draft pick in 2021 out of Oregon in 2021, Lenoir took over when Emmanuel Moseley tore his ACL last season in Week 5 and has steadily improved ever since.

“I think Demo’s been huge for us, man,” Shanahan said. “I thought it started that way last year, the way he finished the season. He took that into the offseason and he’s continued that this year. I think last night might have been his best game of the year so far.”

The 5-0 start

A look at the four previous times the 49ers had a 5-0 start and how the season played out:

2019: Won first eight games before a 27-24 overtime home loss to Seattle. Finished 13-3, won NFC Championship, lost Super Bowl LIV 31-20 to Kansas City in Miami.