Chase Young has been with the San Francisco 49ers for two months now, and has acclimated well to his new locker room. This Sunday, he is set to face his former team, the Washington Commanders, on the field where he spent his first three-and-a-half NFL seasons.
Despite the 49ers being 13-point favorites in the Week 16 matchup, the significance of each of the team's remaining games is heightened after Monday night's loss to the Baltimore Ravens. No one will be overlooked, not even a four-win Commanders squad riding a six-game losing streak.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Young commented, "They're definitely a team who's going to fight to the end. I do know that. So we just got to come out good."
Unlike tackle Trent Williams, who didn't hold an abundance of fond memories of his time in Washington after a 2020 trade brought him to the 49ers, Young has positive recollections, stating, "I think, over there, it's a real good locker room. I think we had fun in the locker room, for sure."
While Young's teammates acknowledge the significance of this weekend's game for the pass rusher, his former college teammate, Nick Bosa, reflected on the past two months and how much Young has progressed in his short time in Santa Clara.
"I feel like he's done an amazing job," Bosa told reporters. "I think he's gotten better each week, and he continues to get better. And this week is a huge one for him. He's already pretty hyped up about it and excited, so we're going to try and play our best game for him."
Young added, "You know it's going to be fun."
Coming off an embarrassing performance against the Ravens on Christmas night, the 49ers are eager to prove the recent setback was merely a hiccup in what has otherwise been an impressive 2023 campaign.
"I think it stinks," Bosa commented on the primetime loss. "I mean, we were so hyped up and excited for an opportunity to show the world how good we are, but I think [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] did a really good job in the team meeting today of putting it to bed and we're moving on.
"I think, when you look at it, there's a lot of silver linings. And with a team like this, how we've bounced back before and how mature of a group we are, I think it could be a benefit for us down the road here."
While the 49ers have already secured a playoff berth and the NFC West title, the next two games might be crucial in their quest to lock up the conference's top seed and home-field advantage.
"Every week is of the utmost importance," linebacker Fred Warner said. "It is the next one. But given the situation, we obviously know we've got to win these next two games to get where we're trying to go. And so that ultimately ends up [meaning] this game is everything. It doesn't matter about winning two games if you don't win the first one, right?
"This is a good football team. In the NFL, all the football teams are good. Some are in different situations than others right now, but they're going to be amped up, ready to go, just like I expect them to be. And they got really good football players, so we got to show up and play our best ball."
