Nick Bosa notched his ninth and tenth sacks of the 2021 season on Sunday, and if what he said after the game is any indication, there could be a lot more to come.
Bosa collected those two sacks in the 49ers' 30-10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, which was the seventh game this season where he's had at least one sack. He's now one ahead of the nine sacks he notched as a rookie in 2019 and is three away from league leader Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns.
Watching players like Garrett, and others, who rack up high amounts of sacks has helped teach Bosa how to get big numbers of his own.
"I think I've definitely improved a lot. I think I'm starting to get the hang of just how to really get sacks, get numbers," Bosa said Sunday. "My rookie year, I was just out there rushing, trying to win every time. It worked well, but now I'm really getting the hang of how the sack leaders in the league do it. They go out there with a plan and know when their opportunities are going to come, and they're ready for it."
Bosa stayed ready throughout the game on Sunday, even though he thought he might not get any opportunities due to the game's lopsided score. He wound up getting his two sacks late in the game, well after the 49ers had the outcome in hand.
"A game like this, I thought my ops were over, and then I get two. So just staying in the game and playing mind games with the guys you're going against," Bosa said.
One of those sacks wasn't exactly the type that will stand out on the highlight reel. Bosa was credited for a sack after he ran Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence out of bounds for a loss of yardage ("I thought I had late-hit him because I was just running and I didn't know where the sideline was," Bosa said). It isn't typically what one envisions as a sack but is credited as one nonetheless.
"I've never gotten one like that," Bosa said. "But we always watch them in the film room and we're like, 'Oh man, that's BS. Come on.'"
Bosa admitted his sideline sack on Lawrence was one of those that typically gets frowned upon in the film room, but he was happy to add it to his total nonetheless.
"Pretty much," Bosa said. "I'll take it."
It's safe to say Bosa is having the type of bounce-back year the 49ers hoped to see from him after he missed the majority of the 20201 season due to a torn ACL. With the help of the offseason training he went through with his brother, Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa, he's shown no lingering effects of the injury and is putting together what will likely be his second Pro Bowl performance since the 49ers drafted him with their first round pick in 2019.
"I definitely feel like I'm moving better than I ever have, which coming off an injury is great to be able to get to this point," Bosa said. "It's a credit to our training that we do back home and all the work that me and my brother put in in the offseason, and it's paying off."