The San Francisco 49ers have invested significant resources, from money to draft picks, to create a formidable defensive front. This season, the team traded for defensive end Chase Young to complement Nick Bosa, believing the sacks would come with the bolstered unit.
In this past weekend's playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, the 49ers' defense tallied 22 total pressures but failed to bring down quarterback Jordan Love. This raised concerns for former analyst and Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young.
"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," Young said in a recent radio interview. "And when they're not getting there, we open ourselves up to this madness that happened on Saturday."
Head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed reporters before Thursday's practice, as the team prepares for its NFC Championship Game against the Detroit Lions. When asked if he was concerned about the defense's inability to record a sack against Green Bay, Shanahan jokingly responded, "No. I don't go in there and say, 'Look at these millions, look at these zero sacks, this is unacceptable.'"
Instead, Shanahan considers the specific opponent and the circumstances during the game.
"If you got a four-man rush and people are chipping every time and the [running] back is staying in to help, which means you have eight guys in protection, there's one quarterback, there's two guys out on a route, and seven guys in coverage, probably not going to get many sacks," Shanahan said. "But I don't think you're going to give up many points either.
"So there's a balance out to it. Yeah, we want more sacks, definitely, but how are guys going to play us? How are we going to do it? And I liked how our D-line played."
Kyle Shanahan on whether he gets upset with the D-line having 0 sacks after how much the 49ers invested in the D-line:
"No. I don't go in there and say, 'Look at these millions, look at these zero sacks, this is unacceptable.'" 🤣 pic.twitter.com/FOk4x1mmXd
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) January 25, 2024
On Wednesday, Bosa emphasized the team's focus on affecting the quarterback and not necessarily dwelling on statistics like sacks. Although, Bosa has not recorded a sack since December 17, the longest in-season drought of his career.
Bosa noted, "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."
