Big, strong, fast, smart and polished, San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa provides a relentless pass rushing presence.
The two-time Pro Bowl selection balances aggressiveness with instincts and intelligence to harass quarterbacks.
He's an extremely difficult blocking assignment and having one of the best defensive performances in the NFL.
Heading into Sunday's game against the Texans, Bosa has piled up 15 sacks, a league-high 19 tackles for losses, 30 quarterback hits and four forced fumbles.
“You’ve got to account for him every play," Texans coach David Culley said. "He’s one of the most disruptive players in this league on defense. He’s just a great player and we’re going to account for him. Obviously, we’ll have a plan to be able to take care of him and not let him wreck the game for us.”
Bosa is making a compelling argument for All-Pro honors. The former second overall pick from Ohio State has made a full recovery from a reconstruction of a torn anterior cruciate ligament, a torn medial collateral ligament and a torn lateral meniscus.
Bosa has been the scourge of quarterbacks, dominating offensive tackles. He has 38 solo tackles.
“Big thing is just knowing where he’s at on the field, being able to mix up the cadence so he can’t get a jump on our offensive linemen and beat him off the ball," said Texans rookie quarterback Davis Mills, who was only sacked once and hit twice during a 41-29 win over the Los Angeles Chargers last week that didn't include Bosa's older brother, Joey Bosa, due to a positive COVID-19 test. "Also, we have protection stuff where we can get a little help to our tackles if he’s coming off the edge too fast, so we’ll be able to figure it out that way.”
As a rookie, Bosa had nine sacks and an interception two years ago.
"Bosa is a special player and he's just as valuable this year as he was his rookie year," coach Kyle Shanahan said. "He was the difference for us in 2019 and we missed him greatly last year. And you guys can see why again this year. I think he's getting better each week. And I think he's playing his best ball right now."
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