49ers studs, duds from Week 5 loss vs. Cardinals

49ers Dud: Offensive Tackle Mike McGlinchey

He might be playing at a better level than last year. But right tackle Mike McGlinchey might want to forget what happened in Week 5 at Arizona.

True, the entire 49ers offensive line wasn’t at its best in front of Trey Lance, and there has to be a small understanding how difficult things can be with an inexperienced quarterback trying to scramble in and out of the pocket.

Yet McGlinchey, above the rest of the O-line, had himself a poor day. There’s no getting around that.

Cardinals defensive end Zach Allen beat McGlinchey for one of the two sacks Lance took, and McGlinchey was regularly overworked by EDGE J.J. Watt, too, both in pass protection and in the run game.

What was worse, however, was McGlinchey being flagged three times during the game, twice for holding and another on a false start.

There’s no getting around it, as that decision was already made. But it’s fair to strongly wonder if the Niners made the right decision picking up McGlinchey’s fifth-year option for 2022.