49ers: Nick Bosa Could Be the Comeback Player of the Year
Third year edge rusher Nick Bosa leads and anchors a stout San Francisco pass defense as they make their late season playoff push.
If the NFL season ended today, the San Francisco 49ers would be in the playoffs with the sixth seed in the NFC. A month and a half ago, the 49ers making the playoffs might have seemed outlandish. Now? It’s likely that they’ll get in. And the wave San Francisco has been riding the last five games is a big reason why.
The 49ers are 4-1 in their last five games with wins over the Rams, Vikings, and Bengals during that span. On the year, San Francisco’s pass defense has been among the best in the league, as they’re sixth in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game (218.5). They’re also ninth in the league in average team sacks per game (2.5). Star edge rusher Nick Bosa is responsible for nearly half of those sacks, as he’s third in the NFL with 14 sacks in 13 games this year.
Nick Bosa is so good with his technique. Look at wrist control here 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/pcxSEDZAnk
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) December 13, 2021
In the beginning of the last decade, the 49ers hung their hat on defense. They played a fast, tough, and physical brand of football under previous head coach Jim Harbaugh, and they nearly won a Super Bowl with that identity. When Kyle Shanahan was brought in to coach the 49ers in 2017, no one questioned his offensive knowledge or expertise, but they may have wondered if the team would be as tough now as they were back then under Harbaugh. This was presumably why the 49ers hired former Hall of Fame safety John Lynch as general manager in 2017.
Beginning with the 2017 NFL Draft, the 49ers have selected eight defensive players in the first three rounds of the draft. John Lynch and the rest of the San Francisco brain trust have placed more of an emphasis on defense in the past five drafts and the crown jewel of that process is undoubtedly defensive end Nick Bosa.