On Sunday, Nick Bosa only played 37 of the 57 defensive snaps during the San Francisco 49ers' win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. That is well below the 52-snap average the pass rusher has produced this season.
On Monday, reporters wondered if the addition of Chase Young had helped facilitate the decision to limit Bosa's snap count.
"No, that's been our goal here for a number of weeks, and we've struggled to do that," head coach Kyle Shanahan admitted during his weekly conference call. "I think getting Chase in here made it a lot easier. I think the way the game went made it a lot easier. But that's something that we're trying to [do].
"It's hard to take Nick off the field because of how good he is, obviously, but that's something we're always trying to do because we want Nick playing at the same level for all those plays. Not just rushing the quarterback, but also playing the run, how he chases the ball, too, on screens and things like that.
"In order to get all our guys to do that, you got to rotate them. So I was glad we were able to do that a little bit more."
The 49ers defense showcased a new look against the Jaguars, with Ambry Thomas at the outside cornerback spot opposite Charvarius Ward, and Deommodore Lenoir moving inside to replace Isaiah Oliver.
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When asked about the cornerbacks' performances in their new roles, Shanahan responded, "I thought they did good. I mean, I thought Demo flew around and made a number of plays in the nickel spot. I thought Ambry had some real good plays, too, especially the turnover causing that fumble."
Shanahan acknowledged that Thomas would have scored on that play if not for players and coaches, including the head coach, prematurely running onto the field, mistakenly thinking the play was over. A penalty negated the defensive touchdown.
"But I was real happy with those guys, and hopefully, they'll continue to get better," Shanahan added.
Will that modified lineup become a permanent staple of the defense moving forward?
"We don't think anything long-term," Shanahan stated. "It's always week to week. So, I liked how it went last week. We'll see, when we watch film here for these next 48 hours, what we think the best is on Wednesday. But I know there was at least one play in that game, maybe two, [where] Demo had to come out. Isaiah went right in, didn't miss a beat.
"I mean, I think Isaiah played some real good ball for us this year, too. So we got some options, and it all depends on who we're playing, and we'll see how this settles, but we're looking into it each week."
