Nick Bosa and the San Francisco 49ers have faced some injury adversity this season, which caused a hiccup for a few weeks in the middle of the season. However, with the team getting healthier and after the moves that they made ahead of the deadline, this is a team trending toward becoming a Super Bowl contender.
While the offense may be held back at times with Jimmy Garoppolo as the starting quarterback, the rest of the team is elite in numerous categories. That has helped him win a lot of games in his career as Sunday’s victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football in Week 10 was his 10th victory without throwing a touchdown in his career.
When healthy, the 49ers have one of the best defenses in the NFL led by star pass rusher Nick Bosa. His impact is felt every time that he is on the field and his absence was felt against the Atlanta Falcons, who scored 28 points against San Francisco with him out of the lineup. He didn’t play a full allotment of snaps against the Kansas City Chiefs the next week either, but it may not have mattered as the Chiefs have been steamrolling every defense they face.
He ramped things up in the following week against the Los Angeles Rams and had the bye in Week 9 to get fully healthy. Bosa looked to be no worse for the wear on Sunday night, playing 97 percent of the defensive snaps, by far his largest percentage of the season.
The most was made of the extra playing time as Bosa finished the game with one sack, four solo tackles, three tackles for loss and four quarterback hits. He has been living in the opponent’s backfield all season, continually winning his matchup to create plays for the 49ers’ defense.
Just how frequently has he gotten to the quarterback? According to CBS Sports, Bosa leads the NFL with 24 quarterback hits this season, an impressive feat since he missed 1.5 games because of injury and San Francisco already had their bye.
Rounding out the top five behind him is Matthew Judon of the New England Patriots and Montez Sweat of the Washington Commanders with 19 apiece. Quinnen Williams of the New York Jets and Za’Darius Smith of the Minnesota Vikings each have 17.
The Ohio State product has consistently been one of the most productive pass rushers in the NFL whenever he is on the field. He has registered at least nine sacks in each full season he has played in and is setting himself up for a really nice payday this offseason as he will be eligible for an extension after completing his fourth season in the league.
