It’s no secret that the 49ers want to run the hell out of the ball against the Bears. Luckily it looks like they took a big step towards being able to do just that, thanks to the recovery of right tackle Mike McGlinchey.
According to offensive line coach Chris Foerster, McGlinchey is looking like his old self.
“He looks the best he’s looked. Knock on wood that he holds in there. He fought through the rough injury coming back in the Green Bay game, got about eight plays in, and now he’s really done a nice job, man. These last few days, he’s looked like the Mike that we’ve all hoped he would look like. That’s been encouraging. And again, same thing, he’s got to string some games together here, and I hope that he goes out on Sunday and has a really nice outing.”
Last year against Chicago the 49ers ran the ball 26 times for 145 yards, and I think the formula will be the same this week. Don’t be deceived by the that high 5.6 yards per carry mark, though. Nothing came easy on the ground in that game.
Elijah Mitchell rushed for 137 yards vs CHI in Week 8 last season.
— Steph Sanchez (@Steph49K) September 7, 2022
135(!) of those yards came after contact, per PFF. That’s absurd. #49ers
Hopefully the addition of Trey Lance and Deebo Samuel on the ground can give the running game enough diversity to make things a little easier this week.
As far as McGlinchey’s pass blocking, he shouldn’t be tested too much in this one. The Bears don’t have a truly dominating pass rusher, but veteran Robert Quinn could potentially line up on McGlinchey’s side for a few snaps, if only to escape the black hole that is Trent Williams.
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