Nick Bosa was a rookie the last time he went against quarterback Baker Mayfield. The talented pass rusher finished that game with two sacks and five quarterback hits on the way to a 31-3 win over the Cleveland Browns.
After a play in which Bosa delivered pressure on Mayfield, forcing an intentional grounding penalty late in the first half, the 49ers defender trolled the quarterback by mimicking the waving and planting of a flag on the field.
BOSA JUST PLANTED HIS FLAG IN SAN FRAN 😤 @nbsmallerbear pic.twitter.com/wsoVZVAXiX
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 8, 2019
In college, Mayfield and the Oklahoma Sooners upset Bosa's Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium. The quarterback ran over, grabbed an Oklahoma flag, waved it, and planted it into the logo on the stadium field.
Bosa clearly remembered that. He practiced the celebration a week earlier before that NFL rematch with Mayfield.
"Nick and his little revenge there was awesome," tight end George Kittle said after the game. "The flag plant is incredible, and Nick played a hell of a game tonight."
Bosa joined KNBR this morning and was asked about the upcoming matchup against Mayfield, who is now with the Carolina Panthers. Will he call out the quarterback before Sunday's matchup?
"I don't think I called him out last time before the game," Bosa said on the Murph & Mac show while trying not to laugh out loud. "I just called him out after. So yeah, maybe I'll just call him out after when it goes the way we want it to."
The defensive end added, "We're going to play Niners football."
That time, he couldn't help but laugh.
"I've got no trash talk this morning," Bosa noted. "It's too early for that."
Bosa believes he's matured since his rookie season. He has become a leader on defense, and a first-time team captain, and delivers motivational speeches to his teammates the day before games.
"I was 21 [my rookie season]. Now I'm 24," Bosa said. "So that's definitely a big growth period in anybody's life, especially when you're living this type of life and around a lot of really good leaders and people. It kind of forces you to grow up a little bit. I wouldn't say I'm a huge vocal leader on the team because we have a lot of guys who have been in the league for 10-plus years and have seen a lot more than I have.
"But I do have a lot of pretty valuable experiences so far, and there are some young guys in the D-line room that I like to share that with."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Bosa below.