Should 49ers fans be worried about the state of the pass rush without Nick Bosa?
One game might not be enough to warrant a push of the panic button, but the results to come from the game in question aren't encouraging.
With Bosa out for the season after tearing an ACL in last Sunday's win over the Arizona Cardinals, the 49ers went bone dry on the pass-rush stat sheet in their 26-21 Week 4 home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. According to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, the 49ers against the Jaguars went without a sack and a quarterback hit in a single game for the first time since 2015.
That's obviously not a stat that will make fans optimistic. As a matter of fact, it's almost certain to increase the desire to see the 49ers push for some help via trade.
That topic was brought up to 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan after the loss to the Jaguars, and it didn't exactly sound like he was ready to say much about it.
"Yeah, you don't replace Bosa," Shanahan said, without expanding on the possibility of adding any outside assistance.
For at least the near future, the 49ers will have to make do with what they have. Despite what happened (or didn't happen) for the pass rush on Sunday, linebacker Fred Warner is keeping a positive attitude about life after Nick Bosa.
"Everybody's got to do their 1/11 out there," Warner said. "It's not anybody trying to make up for Nick. It's about just guys doing their job... if we play together, all eleven on the field, and we'll get exactly what we need."
And there may be more to that zero sacks/zero hits stat than meets the eye, according to Shanahan, who pointed at the Jaguars' running game and the quick passes of quarterback Trevor Lawrence as reasons why the sack numbers weren't there on Sunday.
"I have to watch the tape," Shanahan said. "I know we didn't get any sacks and stuff, but I thought their main thing was they ran the ball. They got some explosives in the run game, especially, I think they got a 50-yarder, something like that. So I think that is tough to generate pass rush when they're dependent on the run like that. It looked like they had way too many quick throws that I thought we needed to be more competitive on. The quarterback got the ball out of his hands fast. When you do that, there's not many opportunities for sacks."
Still, there's no question the 49ers missed Bosa against the Jaguars. Bosa was having an impactful season before his injury, having totaled two sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and 17 total tackles over the first three weeks. Maybe one positive to take from Sunday's game is the defense overcame a rough first half to help keep the 49ers in the game down the stretch without Bosa, with the only second-half touchdown for the Jaguars coming on special teams. Perhaps that will serve as a small step in the right direction.
"I guess it is encouraging," defensive lineman Sam Okuayinonu said. "But at the end of the day, our defense has to find a way to win."