The San Francisco 49ers defense racked up 22 pressures against the Green Bay Packers in this past weekend's playoff game, but they couldn't bring down quarterback Jordan Love even once. That could be considered troublesome, given how much the team has invested into creating a formidable defensive front.
This outcome raised concerns for former analyst and Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, who expected a more dynamic performance from the team's pass-rushing unit.
"I found myself, during the game, saying to myself, where's the dynamic nature of these athletes?" Young said Wednesday on Bay Area radio station KNBR's "Tolbert and Copes" show. "It felt like it was just four guys bull rushing and trying to—I'm sure there's way more to it, I'm not an expert—but my commentary to myself is, where's all this dynamic [play]?
"Maybe they wanted to say, 'Look, we want to keep him in the pocket, we're going to rush like we would Lamar Jackson.' That would make sense to me. That's kind of the technique that they wanted to use to make sure that he didn't get out and everyone's going to stay in their lane. And it felt like the effort was around containment and not getting there because they certainly weren't getting there.
"And I think one of the things that makes the 49ers really hum is when those four guys are getting there, and then everything cascades from there. And when they're not getting there, we open ourselves up to this madness that happened on Saturday."
When asked about the defense's inability to generate a single sack against the Packers and if such a performance is unacceptable, defensive end Nick Bosa responded, "Not when the scoreboard is in our favor. We affect the game in different ways. Sacks are good. I feel like I talk about this a lot. I wish I didn't have to, but it's what we're paid to do. But affecting the quarterback in different ways could be just as valuable as sacks."
Bosa, who led the NFL in sacks last season, hasn't brought down an opposing quarterback since December 17 against the Arizona Cardinals. This is his longest stretch of games without a sack since entering the NFL.
"They're hard to come by lately, but we're going to keep working our ass off to get them, as many as we can," Bosa said.
The 49ers are gearing up for Sunday's NFC Championship Game against the Detroit Lions. The defensive line will face a former NFC West foe in quarterback Jared Goff. Is he the same player they faced with the Los Angeles Rams, and what's the key to stopping him?
"I think he is the same guy," Bosa responded. "He's played great in LA, and he's played great with Detroit, but the key is obviously getting pressure on him. He's got a really good O-line, so it makes it tough, but you cover up his first couple of reads, and you get after him, hit him a few times, it changes things a little bit."