Nick Bosa could be about to kick-start his 2023 season at exactly the right time
Nick Bosa's name is a lot lower down the list of NFL sack leaders than you would expect it to be through four weeks of the season. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year and the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history has just one sack in 2023, but a closer look at his performances and […]
Nick Bosa's name is a lot lower down the list of NFL sack leaders than you would expect it to be through four weeks of the season.
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year and the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history has just one sack in 2023, but a closer look at his performances and his numbers suggest an explosion from the 49ers' star edge rusher is around the corner.
Bosa was once again held without a sack in San Francisco's 35-16 cruise against the Cardinals on Sunday, but his tape was not that of a pass rusher who failed to make an impression on the game.
Though it was far from the defense's finest performance, Bosa was still a very disruptive force.
He led the 49ers with five pressures against Arizona, per Pro Football Focus registering a pass rush win rate of 31 percent.
That number was reflected by the tape, which showed a pass rusher very much in form, Bosa displaying his ability to win to the inside and the flexibility to get around the edge and turn the corner along with the power that is a defining feature of his game.
Bosa's failure to turn those pressures into sacks was in part a product of Cardinals quarterback Joshua Dobbs' success in getting the ball out quickly. His time to throw of 2.68 seconds was the 10th fastest among all quarterbacks in Week 4, per NextGen Stats.
That is an obstacle he is likely to run into again in the 49ers' blockbuster Week 5 showing with the Cowboys, whose quarterback Dak Prescott had an average time to throw of 2.43 seconds against the Patriots and has the fourth-highest average (2.49 seconds) through the first four games of the campaign.
However, ahead of a mammoth primetime game that could have a huge impact on seeding in the NFC, Bosa is playing at an extremely high level, with his displays giving an indication that a truly special showcase of his talents could be around the corner.
It would be a huge help to the 49ers if it comes on Sunday Night Football in the latest instalment of arguably the NFL's greatest rivalry.
49ers’ dominant Week 4 win over Cardinals maintains familiar pattern
They keep writing very similar stories.
