Nick Bosa’s injury could effectively end 49ers season
The 49ers need their defense to be elite if they want to be Super Bowl contenders. That can’t happen without the services of Nick Bosa.
A certain number of Super Bowl contenders can trust their offense to overpower opposing defenses to win games. The 49ers aren’t one of those franchise. On the contrary, they need to play great defense to merit a place among the NFL elite.
A big part of San Francisco’s defensive success is predicated on the exceptional play from their defensive line. Edge rusher Nick Bosa is the team’s top defensive lineman. His ability to generate edge pressure against double teams is a huge part of the team’s equation for success.
That’s why the injury that forced him to be carted off against the Jets could cripple the 49ers’ hopes of returning to the Super Bowl this season. The fact that fellow defensive lineman Solomon Thomas was carted off on the very next play only complicates matters for San Francisco. With all due respect to Thomas’ talent, Bosa is the guy the 49ers can’t live without.
He is one of a handful of guys around the league that can realistically hope to notch 20 sacks in a single season. Bosa is the first guy on every opposing offensive coordinator’s scouting report. At worst, he draws regular double teams on every passing down. That gives his defensive teammates numerous chances to feast against single teams.
Without Bosa to draw those double teams, a lot of pressure will fall onto guys like Dee Ford, Arik Armstead, and rookie Javon Kinlaw to pick up the slack. In fairness to the 49ers’ front office, that group still has more talent than many other teams around the league. The problem for San Francisco is that they need their defensive line to be elite. Simply playing well won’t cut it.
The loss of Bosa will also heap a ton of pressure on Jimmy Garoppolo to finally blossom into an above-average starting quarterback. He benefits from working with one of the top playcallers in the league. Even with Kyle Shanahan calling the shots, he frequently looks like a guy who the 49ers win in spite of rather than a signal-caller who elevates his teammates.
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As it stands, the 49ers will face a nervous wait until they receive more information about just how long they’ll be without Bosa. They have the roster talent to keep things afloat without him, but it’s vital that he return by the time the postseason rolls around if the 49ers want to achieve their Super Bowl dreams. A season-ending injury to Bosa would force San Francisco to rethink their attainable goals for the 2020 season.