There was a moment late during the San Francisco 49ers' win on Saturday over the Minnesota Vikings when fans were very worried about Nick Bosa. The rookie defensive end went down in the fourth quarter and was not getting up. Players and staff surrounded the young star while fans quietly waited to find out if Bosa was OK.
Chants of "Bosa! Bosa! Bosa!" started to fill Levi's Stadium, and the rookie was helped to his feet by trainers. What happened next was unexpected. Instead of heading to the sideline to be checked, Bosa started to hop around with swagger while encouraging the fans to get even louder.
Nick Bosa wasn't down for long. 😤 #GoNiners #NFLPlayoffs @nbsmallerbear pic.twitter.com/EM9KEYhEEQ
— NFL (@NFL) January 11, 2020
"I was just trying to get my breath back initially," Bosa told reporters after the game. "Then they told me to stay down for a second. Then I heard the chants. I had to get up then. It was a really cool moment, though."
One person who was worried about Bosa was the man who drafted the young defensive star — John Lynch. The 49ers general manager had a message for Bosa after the game, and he delivered it via a story from his youth.
Lynch shared the story during his Thursday-night KNBR interview.
"I was worried, and I told him he needs to have a talk from John Lynch Sr. because when I was about 10 years old, some farm boys down outside of San Diego put it on me, and I got the wind knocked out," Lynch said on the Tolbert, Krueger and Brooks show. "My dad's a big man. He's like 6-5, 300-plus. He came out on the field, and he asked the referees all to back up, and he told me, he said, 'Johnny, you just got the wind knocked out of you.'
"He lifted the belt, and he said, 'Now, if you ever lay down on a field again, it's going to hurt a lot worse when you get home.' I never laid on a field again.
"I shared that with Nick this week."
Lynch added: "I'd be in the NFL, and wanting to lay down, and I'd think of that. Oh gosh, dad's watching. I better get my ass up."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.