The San Francisco 49ers opened Javon Kinlaw's practice window today. The defensive tackle has not played since Week 3 due to a setback with his surgically repaired knee. Kinlaw has only appeared in seven games over the past two seasons. However, he hopes to be on the football field with his teammates when the 49ers host the Washington Commanders on Christmas Eve.
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"Me, personally, I do," Kinlaw responded when asked if he expects to play this weekend, acknowledging that it is not entirely his decision by repeating, "Me, personally, I do," multiple times.
What has Kinlaw been able to do while sidelined?
"It's the same stuff," Kinlaw told reporters on Tuesday. "You just don't see me on the grass. But I'm always around. I might not come to the game because you can see the game better on the TV versus being on the sidelines. I'm always around. I'm always still doing what I've been doing off the field."
Bosa happy to get teammates back
Kinlaw won't practice today but is expected to be on the practice field for Wednesday's session. Joining him will be defensive lineman Kalia Davis, who has been on the non-football injury list all season. San Francisco opened the rookie's practice window, too.
"It's huge," defensive end Nick Bosa said when asked about the two defensive linemen's potential returns. "It felt good in the D-line room, having it full again. Yeah, I'm excited for Javon to get back."
End-of-season strategy
The 49ers have three games remaining. After this weekend's contest against the Commanders, San Francisco will travel to face the Raiders in Las Vegas before closing out the season at home against the Arizona Cardinals.
The team has already clinched the NFC West, guaranteeing a playoff berth and starting postseason play at home. Still, the No. 2 seed is within its grasp. The 49ers' mentality won't change, knowing they can do no worse than the No. 3 seed.
"You can't really dial back anything when you're trying to win and get the best seed possible, which we're trying to do," Bosa said. "So just play the same, prepare the same, and just don't let any of your habits slip that you've done all year because, at this time of year, your mind could wonder and stuff like that, so you just want to stick with what you've been doing."
Other players aren't too concerned with the seeding, knowing that if they just do their job, that will all work itself out.
"I haven't gotten involved in it much," linebacker Fred Warner said. "I'm not even sure what the implications are or how we even get from the three to the two. I know we're the three. That's about as much as I know, though. ... I know we secured a playoff spot, we secured the division. But at the same time, we know that we've got much bigger aspirations for ourselves. That starts with trying to find a way to win this week."
Mentality on defense
The 49ers have allowed an impressive 15 points per game this season. However, that number was not what Warner wanted to hear.
"Fifteen seems a little high," Warner said, somewhat jokingly. "We can probably get that down a little bit, about 10."
While there was a humorous tone to that statement, it does show you how much pride the 49ers defense takes in its dominant play this season.
"That's the mindset (allowing zero points)," Warner added. "Obviously, it's easier said than done, but I think as long as we're kind of executing at a high level, play in and play out, you look up at the end of the game and see, OK, they only scored such amount of points. It's a work in progress all game long."
Bosa admits that he and his teammates are hard on themselves. While they have been playing some inspiring football, nothing short of perfection is good enough. As an example, the defensive end used giving up a touchdown late in last Thursday's game against the Seahawks.
"It's the same mindset every week," Bosa said. "Just keep them out of the end zone. And I think when you're doing this well, and everybody is talking you up, it's the team's job, the leaders' and the coaches' job to keep everyone level-headed, and not just look at a game that we won and be, 'All right, good job.' But nitpick and look a the things we did wrong because every week there's things that we messed up."
Warner was happy to hear that his defense has only allowed 11 points per game over the 49ers' current seven-game win streak compared to the 15 points per game over the entire season.
"Yeah, that's a little closer," Warner said with a smile. "A little closer. We can still get that a little lower."