There were plenty of San Francisco 49ers players with eyes on them during the team's kickoff contest on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1. And while most fans were curious how quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo would fare in his first meaningful action since tearing his ACL early last season, there was plenty of attention on San Francisco's top pick from the 2019 NFL Draft, EDGE Nick Bosa.
Bosa, who was dealing with an ankle injury and missed the entire preseason, made his NFL debut on Sunday. And he did not disappoint.
The line total is already pretty good. Bosa managed three tackles, three quarterback hits and his first career sack, bringing down Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston at the 8:49 mark of the third quarter:
Nick Bosa with the shoulder shrug after his first career sack 🔥🔥 @nbsmallerbear pic.twitter.com/J1c0B0Tpxa
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) September 8, 2019
The 49ers' other top offseason addition, EDGE Dee Ford, created the pressure allowing Bosa to get home. Both players pressured Winston regularly throughout the day, ultimately influencing him tossing three interceptions on the afternoon.
Considering San Francisco recorded just two picks all of last year, the idea of reinforcing the pass rush to take pressure off the secondary seemed to work well enough in Week 1.
Even if Winston made Bosa look bad on one play earlier in the game:
Jameis Winston gives Nick Bosa his 'Welcome to the NFL' moment with the juke then finds Mike Evans for a 16-yard gain pic.twitter.com/6tsDx1kyFe
— Sports Gifs & Videos (@Supreme_gifs) September 8, 2019
"From what I saw, it looked good," head coach Kyle Shanahan said of Bosa and Ford's efforts. "I know they weren't out there all the time, but I saw them make a few plays. Every time I looked up, when Bosa was in, he got back there. Missed Jameis on a couple that I saw, but Jameis is pretty good at that, too. He's done that to a lot of good players.
"But I was really happy how they got in the backfield. Not just them two, but the whole D-line."
Bosa primarily entered the game in clear passing situations, and there were certainly more in the second half after San Francisco took the lead. Notably, his inside rushes were effective, forcing Winston to evade to his right or left.
More importantly, Bosa showed no signs of his ankle injury hindering him on the field.