Eventful debut for rookie McGlinchey
MINNEAPOLIS >> Midway through his NFL debut, top draft pick Mike McGlinchey had to abandon his post at right tackle and fill in for two wounded teammates at right guard.
“Especially in his first game, you don’t want to do that,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said after Sunday’s 24-16 loss to the Vikings. “Once it happened, though, you’ve got to decide which way to go.”
With guards Mike Person and Joshua Garnett lost to foot injuries, the 49ers opted to move McGlinchey and insert veteran Garry Gilliam at right tackle. Gilliam missed most of the last month in concussion protocol and the 49ers felt more comfortable keeping him at his usual position.
As for McGlinchey, Shanahan said: “My hat’s off to him. He didn’t hesitate. He was excited about the challenge. He went in there and did his best.”
McGlinchey said he was “a little shocked” at his reassignment after it was proposed by line coach
Jon Benton. “He said, ‘McGlinch, you want to play right guard?’ And I said, ‘Sure.’ So I did it.”
Two snaps before Alfred Morris’ fumble at the 1, a Vikings defensive holding penalty wiped out what would have been the first sack allowed by McGlinchey.
Don’t expect him to play more right guard. The 49ers could re-sign Jonathan Cooper,
if they need a familiar face. They deactivated three linemen before the game: Matt Tobin, Erik Magnuson and tackle Shon Colemen.
Garnett said of his injury: “I’m sure I’ll be alright and fine. It’s nothing crazy.”
• Marquise Goodwin hobbled off with a quadriceps contusion 12:58 before halftime, and he returned briefly in the second half to help free space for tight end George
Kittle’s 36-yard catch.
“He tried to go hard but it was tough for him to run,” Shanahan said of Goodwin’s return.
Former Chargers team doctor David Chao weighed in on Twitter with a prognosis: “Key now that (Goodwin) has returned will be to keep it from swelling after the game. 49ers medical staff will do their job and he should be ready and healthier for next week.”
The injury occurred on the 49ers’ third possession, and Goodwin had been targeted only once to that point, where he was unable to snag a low pass from Garoppolo. Goodwin is coming off a career-best season that included 56 receptions for 962 yards and two touchdowns.
Goodwin was replaced by rookie Dante Pettis, who made a 22-yard touchdown catch late in the third quarter for his first career catch. The last 49er to score a touchdown on his first career reception was Vernon Davis in 2006.
Pettis nearly scored his first touchdown earlier but Trae Waynes broke up that ball at the goal line. Pettis’ other catch was on a 39yard reception.
• With Reuben Foster serving a two-game suspension and Malcolm Smith out because of a hamstring, the 49ers started rookie Fred Warner alongside Brock Coyle at linebacker, the latter of whom left with a fourth-quarter concussion. Elijah Lee replaced Coyle and put a hard hit on scrambling Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Warner finished with 12 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass defense. The last 49ers defender to put up such numbers was NaVorro Bowman in 2013 at Arizona (10 tackles, forced fumble, pass defense).
• With Jerick McKinnon lost to a season-ending knee injury, fullback Kyle Juszczyk figured to pick up some receiving slack. Juszczyk had only one catch but it was a career-long 59-yard reception on the 49ers’ first snap after Garoppolo threw a pick-six. Matt Breida had only one catch for 5 yards, and starting running back Alfred Morris wasn’t targeted in the passing game.
Breida finished with a team-high 46 yards on 11 carries while Morris had 38 yards on 12 carries, the most infamous being a fumble at the 1-yard line just before halftime.
• Robbie Gould made all three of his field-goal attempts (42, 33 and 22 yards). It was the seventh time in 17 games he’s made at least three field goals for the 49ers. He’s made 26 consecutive field-goal attempts dating to last season, and he is one shy of Phil Dawson’s 2013 team record.