Nick Bosa still impressing 49ers despite recent sack slump
What’s wrong with Nick Bosa?
Nothing, of course. The question is being asked in jest because Bosa has just one sack in his past six games. Sack numbers aside, the No. 2 pick in the draft has been a menace for opposing offenses.
“I thought he was unbelievable last game,” Kyle Shanahan said of Bosa’s performance in the New Orleans Saints game last week. “Not all over the stat sheet by any means, but when you’re as good of a player as he is and what he’s put on tape, people are going to make it a very strong point to not allow you to get on the stat sheet. I think he’s learning through that.”
Bosa made one of the biggest plays in the first half when he stopped a streak of four straight scoring drives for New Orleans with a third-down tackle of backup quarterback Taysom Hill for 6-yard loss while drawing a flag for being held. He also nearly intercepted a swing pass from Drew Brees in the second half.
However, the stat sheet didn’t reflect Bosa’s impact on the game. He was credited with a pair of tackles (one for loss), two quarterback hits and a pass breakup. An interception would have jazzed up his totals.
“I was pissed about the deflection because I wanted to catch it,” Bosa said Friday.
The Ohio State alum has been as transformative a figure as any offseason addition in the league. The 49ers had the 28th-ranked scoring defense in 2018 and improved to No. 3 since drafting Bosa while also owning the No. 1 pass defense for most of the year.
Opposing offenses have taken notice.
“I’ve never seen a rookie get more attention than he’s gotten,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said this week. “The amount of chips he gets, the amount of double teams, I’ve never seen anything like it. I can’t believe teams are afraid of a rookie, but that’s their problem.”
Bosa is learning about what a relative sack drought can look like as he wades through the longest season of his football career. He’s played in all 13 games to date despite coming into the NFL with questions about his durability. That stems mostly from his last season at Ohio State when he appeared in just three games. He also missed the preseason because of an ankle sprain early in training camp, which came after a hamstring tweak ended his offseason program early.
The expectations for Bosa rose following the lightning quick start to his pro career.
He became just the sixth player since 1982 to record at least 7.0 sacks through his first seven contests. He’s been atop the fan voting for the Pro Bowl since polls opened and was even talked about as a defensive player of the year candidate, though that’s quieted recently.
That early run was highlighted by his ridiculous three-sack performance Oct. 27 against the Carolina Panthers that included a high-light reel interception when he snatched a bubble screen from Kyle Allen.
But he’s only registered just one sack since, coming Nov. 24 against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. Part of the reasoning: opponents are devoting their resources to stopping him.
“I think I’m getting better,” Bosa said. “In my opinion, I had a really good game (against the Saints). Obviously there wasn’t any stats on the stat sheet. Not many people realize that there’s more to it than getting sacks.”
Part of the reason for Bosa’s sack-less streak has been the quality of his opponents. He’s gone against three of the NFL’s premier left tackles the past three weeks in David Bakhtiari (Packers), Ronnie Stanley (Ravens) and Terron Armstead (Saints).
Armstead, in particular, was a unique challenge because of how well he plays with his hands -- a skill Bosa has also become known for.
“We were having hand battles the whole game. I think it’s cool when a tackle really is a technician,” said Bosa. “I think we had a really good battle. I think I learned a lot about playing the best of the best. And now that I know what the best of the best is, I can start working towards that.”
A major part of Bosa’s workload is keeping his body healthy and fresh, which can be taxing for rookies whose college seasons would be wrapping up at this time of the year. Bosa could be facing up to seven more games if San Francisco makes the Super Bowl.
It starts with doing work in the team’s hydrotherapy pool in the morning, getting treatment in the training room later in the day, and lifting weights.
“I think lifting is what people get away from from,” Bosa said. “And I think it’s one of the most important things, just staying strong and just keeping your legs right.”
That has become particularly important now that Bosa could see his workload increase with the absence of defensive end Dee Ford, who could miss multiple games with a hamstring injury after aggravating it in New Orleans.
“He’s one of the more relentless human beings in terms of taking care of his body, all the (re-generation) stuff that they’ve got,” Saleh said of Bosa. “He does a fantastic job with it. You’d like to limit his reps, obviously. We want to make sure that he’s not taking too much of a load. A lot of things have been happening, especially over the second half of the season, where it’s kind of forcing our hand. Credit to him, he does a great job getting himself ready to play on Sunday so he can handle it.”
Playoff clinching scenarios
The 49ers could clinch a playoff berth with a win on Sunday, or a Rams (8-5) loss or tie on the road against the Cowboys (6-7), or Minnesota Vikings loss paired with a Packers loss. The Vikings (9-4) are traveling to L.A. to play the Chargers (5-8) while Green Bay (10-3) hosts the Chicago Bears (7-6).
Oddly enough, the last time San Francisco went to the postseason after the 2013 season, they clinched with a victory over Atlanta in the last game at Candlestick Park that ended with the famous pick-six from linebacker NaVorro Bowman.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks (10-3) want to avenge their loss over the weekend by traveling to play the Carolina Panthers (5-8). Seattle hosts the Arizona Cardinals the following week.
Should the 49ers win their next two games, and the Seahawks drop one of their next two, they would win the NFC West next week and could potentially rest their starters in the Week 17 game in Seattle.
This story was originally published December 13, 2019 at 5:10 PM.
