Lions Defensive Line vs. 49ers Offensive Line
On the other side of the ball, I’m looking at the trenches again. The right side of the Niners’ line is without a doubt the weakest link of the offense. Right guard is an injury pit in San Francisco with Mike Person and Joshua Garnett both oddly falling to foot injuries in Week 1. A bit of patchwork was done by way of moving rookie Mike McGlinchey from right tackle down to guard. It didn’t go well, and the 49ers just stopped running the right altogether by the second half.
San Francisco pulled undrafted rookie Najee Toran from the practice squad to start at right guard on Sunday. McGlinchey will move back to his natural tackle position, but the rookie first-round pick now is now tasked with Ziggy Ansah, who is optimistic that he will play against San Francisco. Without Ansah on the field to wreak havoc as a pass rusher, Darnold looked very comfortable in the pocket on Monday night. Matching up the All-Pro defensive end against a rookie tackle gives the Lions defense an entirely new look.
The 49ers rushing attack is less than impressive as it is. The two-headed backfield of Alfred Morris and Matt Breida were average against one of the league’s best run defenses, combining for 84 yards on 23 carries on Sunday. A trio of Sylvester Williams, Ricky Jean-Francois, and A’Shawn Robinson need to give Toran a long day and force the 49ers to abandon running right another week.