Lynch pleased with McGlinchey's ‘solid' play this season

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Mike McGlinchey has faced his fair share of doubters throughout his career in San Francisco, and 49ers general manager John Lynch is well aware.

But the offensive tackle’s performance this season is worthy of praise in Lynch’s eyes.

“People love talking about Mike McGlinchey’s struggles, but Mike’s had a really solid year for us,” Lynch told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco during an upcoming episode of the “49ers Talk” podcast.

The offensive line as a whole has played well this season, too, Lynch noted. He pointed to the synergy 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and his newest weapon, Christian McCaffrey, already have formed together as a testament to that.

When Garoppolo and McCaffrey connected for a touchdown on an off-schedule play against the Los Angeles Rams, that newfound chemistry between the pair was a big factor. But it was the blocking up front that allowed them to do so.

“I like the way our offensive line [looks], and I think the common thread on a lot of those plays where Jimmy extended it, he had the time to,” Lynch told Maiocco. “It takes everybody, and we certainly have the skill.

“I like where our O-line’s at, and Jimmy, we all know he has the capability to deliver it.”

McGlinchey ranks No. 52 among NFL offensive tackles with an overall PFF grade of 70.2. That’s the offensive line’s second-best grade behind All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams, who is third in the league with an 88.4 grade.

But he has allowed five sacks this season -- tied for third-most in the league. Two of those sacks came during the 49ers’ deflating loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, something Lynch noted as somewhat of an anomaly game for McGlinchey when speaking with The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami.

“It’s been solid, consistent,” Lynch said on “The TK Show” while discussing McGlinchey’s season once again. “He had one bad half, tough half, against the Chiefs and [defensive tackle] Chris Jones, who’s an All-Pro player.

“[He] had some rough snaps, but really pleased with the way Mike’s playing and that whole group’s playing.”

McGlinchey was one of the first to admit that the 49ers didn’t play their best game against the Chiefs, and he put the onus on himself to perform better moving forward even though he was coming off a calf injury suffered in Week 6.

“I just got to do what I do better. I didn’t do my technique, and I didn’t do my job well enough, enough times on Sunday,” McGlinchey said about the 44-23 loss.

McGlinchey allowed another pair of sacks in Week 8 against the Rams.

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Still, the fifth-year pro has adopted a “turn-the-page” mentality in recent seasons that has allowed him to bounce back after making mistakes. Before Weeks 7 and 8, McGlinchey had allowed just one sack on the season against the Chicago Bears in Week 1.

And after a week of rest during the bye week, McGlinchey should be ready to continue his “solid” season when the 49ers take on the Los Angeles Chargers on Nov. 13 at Levi’s Stadium.

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