There is a pretty strong bond along the front line of the 49ers defense, a group that has been built on star power and a willingness to work together. Since San Francisco added Chase Young to the pack at the trade deadline three weeks ago, the unit has gotten that much better, and the fulcrum of the group, Nick Bosa, has a message he wants Young to keep in mind: Bring the energy.
“Just having him out there is really good energy,” Bosa told reporters, per 49ers Web Zone. “He’s excited to go out there and play. He wants to get those important reps in the game. And we’re talking before plays, kind of talking about what we’re going to do, and when he causes pressure [or] I cause pressure, it seems like the other guy ends up cleaning it up.”
After three wayward games on both sides of the ball and a three-game losing streak, the 49ers have cleaned a lot up in their last two outings heading into Thursday night’s key matchup in Seattle. The addition of Chase Young has a fair bit to do with it, too.
After allowing 1,186 yards in the three-game losing streak, the 49ers have tightened up, allowing just 508 yards in their last two games. They’ve created six turnovers and allowed just 17 points in those two games.
49ers Tallied 9 Sacks in Two Weeks
The 49ers have also had nine sacks in the last two weeks after having just five in the previous three games. Chase Young has accounted for 1.5 of those sacks, while Bosa has accounted for 2.0 of them.
The string continues Young’s much-improved play this year. In seven games for Washington, Young had 15 tackles and 9 quarterback hits, and with 5.0 sacks, he was well on pace to top his career high of 7.5 sacks. If the 49ers’ goal in trading for Young was to take pressure off pass-rushing star Bosa, Young was ideal —the two were teammates at Ohio State.
“He was a real big brother to me, I think, when I came in at Ohio State,” Young told NBC Sports Bay Area. “From high school to come to a place like Ohio State, the bullets can be flying pretty fast for young guys who just step in. I feel like Nick, he just embraced me with open arms. You know, taught me everything he knew.”
Chase Young: Nick Bosa ‘Catered’ to Me
Chase Young said that when he was with the Buckeyes, Bosa actually took him under his wing and helped develop his skills to where Young, like Bosa, wound up being a No. 2 pick in the NFL draft.
“When I got to O-State, Nick Bosa kind of catered to me,” Young told NBC Sports Bay Area. “I think he knew how talented I was coming in there, how I could move and catch on to things as quickly as he did. I felt like he really kind of grabbed me and said, ‘Come here, I’m going to teach you how to be a great player.’”
Young played 34 games at OSU from 2017-2019, and totaled 30.5 sacks, which includes 16.5 sacks in his junior year. Bosa played alongside him in 2017 and 2018, though he was limited to three games by an injury in his final year with the Buckeyes.
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49ers Nick Bosa Sends Strong Message to ‘Excited’ New Teammate