49ers’ team-first minded rookie, Nick Bosa, ‘focused on winning,’ not NFL awards

San Francisco 49ers rookie defensive end Nick Bosa earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Wednesday. We'll find out later this week if he is named the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week.

All of these honors that Bosa is likely to collect going forward don't seem to mean a whole lot to the exciting rookie. DeForest Buckner was the one who let him know on Wednesday morning about winning his first league-sponsored award. Bosa was asked what it means to him, and the defender offered a very team-first response.

"I couldn't care less," Bosa said. "I'm just trying to keep playing and winning. We've got to win. I'm focused on winning."


Bosa is coming off of an impressive performance in the 49ers' Week 5 dismantling of the Cleveland Browns on Monday night. He finished the game with four combined tackles, two sacks, five quarterback hits, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

"I saw the highlights," quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said on Wednesday. "The guy's a maniac. He's awesome. I love it. He brings the juice every day -- practice, game day, whatever it is. His motor just never stops on the field. It's impressive."


Cornerback Richard Sherman has also been impressed with his defensive teammate and the impact he has made in his first NFL season.

"Bosa's been outstanding," Sherman said in the 49ers locker room. "He's a great teammate. He obviously an incredible talent.

"I think a lot of people had it wrong with what they were trying to say during the draft. Like, 'Oh my God, that tweet when he was 11,' or whatever he said. It's like, 'Oh my God, he's a bad guy.' This is one of the best teammates you could ask for. He's been that way since day one.

"On the field, he's a monster. I'm sure he's leading in just about every category in terms of pass-rush productivity. He's getting there. He's just dominant. He's trustworthy. He's reliable. He's everything that we could have hoped he would be when they drafted him."


Bosa had some extra motivation to get to Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield on Monday night. No, it had nothing to do with DapGate. Bosa remembered when Mayfield, then with Oklahoma, planted a Sooners flag in the Ohio State logo at the Horseshoe a couple of years ago in an upset of the Buckeyes. He carried that memory into the game against the Cleveland Browns and disrupted the Browns quarterback throughout the night while trolling him a bit.

The 49ers are preparing to open up division play this weekend when they travel to Southern California to face the defending NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams. Wondering if there was any extra motivation heading into that matchup, Bosa was asked if quarterback Jared Goff has ever done anything to anger him?

"Not yet," he responded.

On behalf of 49ers fans everywhere, we'd like to share the following.