The San Francisco 49ers defense has managed to reach opposing quarterbacks only 15 times this season. Seventeen NFL teams have produced more sacks, with the Baltimore Ravens leading the league with 29.
While defensive end Nick Bosa boasts Pro Football Focus' second-highest pass-rushing grade this season (91.7), surpassed only by Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns (95.0), Bosa has only 2.5 sacks. This is a notable drop from last season's NFL-leading 18.5 sacks, which helped earn him NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Two 49ers players have accumulated more sacks than Bosa. They are Javon Hargrave and Drake Jackson, each with three. Obviously, the team hoped for more production out of its star-studded defensive line.
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Ahead of Wednesday's practice, head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about the lack of sacks from Bosa and the defensive line as a whole.
"I know the results haven't been there," Shanahan said while initially addressing Bosa's performance. "He's got a couple of opportunities missed. He's got a couple of opportunities that should have been an easy sack on, and we left number one open too fast where he shouldn't have been.
"So I just feel like, the way it's panned out between rush and coverage, and just all eleven together, they haven't been tied together, to me, when they have done it. When Bosa beats someone, there's got to be nowhere to go with the ball, and they've been able to do that, whether it's a miss or whatever it is."
The opposite is true when Bosa and the defensive line haven't been able to get into the opposition's backfield.
"And when we've had people covered, I don't feel like we've always had that rush," Shanahan continued. "So I think it's there throughout a game, but just not at the right times."
Acknowledging that his holdout might have affected his production, Bosa continues to refine his approach, even if in-season adjustments aren't ideal.
"I want to be locked in on what I do best and just doing it throughout the whole year," Bosa added. "But there's no excuse at this point for that."
The sacks just haven't come as easily as they did for the pass rusher a year ago. Bosa agrees with Pro Football Focus, expressing that he has played well this season, albeit with a few exceptions. The game against the Cleveland Browns, for instance.
"I think I've played really good games this year that haven't been sack games," Bosa told reporters on Wednesday. "And I mentioned Cleveland. I got one, and I thought that was one of my worst games. ... There's a lot of factors that go in, but I think if you just stay the course, they'll eventually come if you're putting yourself in the right positions.
"So I'm trying to continue to play up to my standard, and I think those will come. It's a really long year, so hopefully, in the biggest moments is when they come."
After back-to-back losses and falling to a 5-2 record, the 49ers are determined to reverse their fortunes against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. For Bosa and the defensive line, this means applying more pressure and, hopefully, reaching quarterback Joe Burrow.