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Will Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs offense not have to worry about the wrath of Nick Bosa? Who had to sit out Week 6 with a groin injury?
Or will the San Francisco 49ers soon welcome back their relentless edge rusher who sacked Mahomes in their last meeting: Super Bowl 54?
Bosa was able to provide that update to the Bay Area media on Wednesday, October 19 as the 49ers returned to practice and their Santa Clara facility.
Bosa Shares Optimism Level
Kate Rooney of KRON 4 in San Francisco fired off the question to Bosa: Is he feeling 100% for the upcoming marquee rematch with the Chiefs?
“I’m feeling really good,” Bosa answered. “I’ve gotta get into the practice week and see how it feels, but I’m optimistic.”
Rooney then shared a clip of Bosa in action…which reveals that the explosive get-off that has given offensive tackles fits is on its way back.
Rooney wasn’t the only one who noticed a different Bosa from the one who had to leave the Week 5 road win over the Carolina Panthers. The Athletic’s David Lombardi got video of Bosa being in “good spirits.”
It’s a day-by-day approach with Bosa. Plus the 49ers are still four days away from welcoming Mahomes at Levi’s Stadium for the first time in his NFL career. But Wednesday represented a welcoming sign for the 49ers Faithful that he’s on the road to potentially playing in the highly-anticipated interconference showdown.
How the 49ers Fared Without Bosa
Not having Bosa left a direct impact in the Week 6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Here are some notable defensive stats without Bosa starting:
Pressures/sacks: The number for both? Two — only two pressures of Marcus Mariota according to Pro Football Focus which came from Samson Ebukam and Dre Greenlaw (the latter on a linebacker blitz call) and S.F. producing just two sacks; with Charles Omenihu and rookie Drake Jackson snatching the mobile quarterback.
Lack of hits: Omenihu and Jackson were the only ones who delivered a QB hit of Mariota.
Run defense: The Falcons literally went Kyle Shanahan on the 49ers by turning to a ground-and-pound approach. Atlanta handed the football off 40 times and averaged 4.2 yards per carry while racking up 168 rushing yards. When the Falcons attacked the defensive ends on runs, they ended up allowing these numbers per PFF: 62 yards (the most up the ends’ side this season), two gains of 10 yards or more, 39 yards after contact and Mariota producing the longest Atlanta rushing gain of 20 yards up the side Bosa originally plays.
Even Fred Warner ripped the performance of the 49ers’ defense following the game, mentioned in this Heavy on 49ers story.
Shanahan, though, wanted to make sure that Bosa was limited in how many reps he could get during what was a jersey, helmet and shorts day for the 49ers. He also helped limit the other stars on the 49ers attempting their comeback: Jackson (knee), left tackle Trent Williams (ankle) and safety Jimmie Ward (hand). Shanahan additionally included that cornerback Jason Verrett, who has been out with an ACL tear since before the 2021 season, is good to go against the Chiefs. The sixth-year head coach got asked if having Bosa and Williams back is huge for team morale.
“It’s always huge,” Shanahan said. “Getting anybody back helps and especially getting those two guys back would be huge.”
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