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Since entering the league as the second overall pick in 2019, 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa has terrorized opposing quarterbacks and has gained a reputation for being one of the NFL’s best pass-rushers.
Bosa is off to another strong start this season and as San Francisco comes to Tampa Bay to face the Bucs, the team recognizes they have to stop him if they want to snap their three-game losing streak.
Baker Mayfield: Nick Bosa Is An “Unbelievable Player”
49ers DE Nick Bosa and Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today
Since their respective college days, Nick Bosa and Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield have been rivals. In 2017, Mayfield famously planted an Oklahoma Sooners flag at midfield after beating Bosa’s Ohio State Buckeyes, 31-16. Then in 2019, the defensive end got payback in the NFL after sacking Mayfield and doing a flag-plant celebration of his own.
That rivalry again renewed when the two faced each other in 2023 when Bosa recorded three quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks as the 49ers beat the Bucs 27-14.
That re-kindled the fire, and Mayfield recognizes that the 2022 AP Defensive Player of the Year is the biggest challenge for the offense to slow down.
“Pass rush – it starts up front,” Mayfield said on Wednesday. “Obviously, Bosa, unbelievable player, [we] have to know where he’s at and then you know, they brought in Leonard Floyd who’s a great player as well that has his own production.”
Offensive coordinator Liam Coen’s offense has stayed afloat despite Mayfield working with a more limited set of weapons. Bosa is one challenge that could make it a long afternoon, but there is plenty of other talent and ways that San Francisco’s defense can affect the game.
“The way they rush the passer, they’re jetting up field, that’s their system – they teach those guys to rush straight up field and so [we] have to know that, have to be able to protect up front and get the ball out and just…,” Mayfield added. “You know, obviously Fred Warner is a guy in the second level – unbelievable player, flies around, really makes a defense go, tough to stop in the run game because he recognizes these – [they] play so quickly.
“You have those guys and in the secondary, they have some veterans and they have some young players that are playing really well for them right now, but their corners – [Deommodore] Lenoir and [Charvarius] Ward are scrappy players [with] good ball skills so [we] just have to be ready for all three levels.”
Tristan Wirfs And Luke Goedeke Are Ready To Face Nick Bosa
Bucs RT Luke Goedeke – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Fortunately for the Bucs, they have one of the best offensive tackle duos in the NFL with left tackle Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke. Head coach Todd Bowles admitted on Wednesday that the team has to be “on our Ps and Qs,” and as Wirfs and Goedeke prepare for Sunday’s tilt, Wirfs especially looks forward to stopping Nick Bosa and keeping Baker Mayfield upright.
“I think you just go out and keep the quarterback safe,” Wirfs said on how he is preparing to face the 49ers. “I don’t know if I’d think anything different really. I think the Niners have great get-off, they’re flying off the ball, so I think for tackles, you just have to get out to your junction point, your set point, whatever you want to call it, beat them to the spot. [Nick] Bosa is great with his hands, insane get-off, bends the edge really well.
“He’s got power, he stays low, so it’s all sorts of stuff you have to be ready for. That’s how it is every week, you know. This is the NFL. [There aren’t any] slaps around, so it’s going to be fun. We’ve played them the past two years, they’ve had great defensive lines the past two years – the past forever pretty much. We just have to come ready to play. We know it’s a big test for us up front like it was this past week, come out ready to play and do our jobs to the best of our ability and if we keep ‘6’ (Baker Mayfield) upright, then we’ll probably be all right.”
49ers DE Nick Bosa – Photo by: USA Today
Bosa looks to be at the top of his game. At 27 years old, the four-time Pro Bowl defensive end has 28 total tackles, 14 quarterback hits, 4.5 sacks, an interception and a forced fumble across eight games. Luke Goedeke acknowledged his dominance.
“His play strength, athleticism, and just his knowledge of the game,” Goedeke told Pewter Report about what makes Bosa an elite pass-rusher. “He’s an all-around great football player. Obviously, he shows it week in and week out. He has all of the attributes to be a phenomenal defensive end.”
Many elite pass-rushers have a bread-and-butter move which allows them to get in the backfield and get sacks in bunches.
What’s Bosa’s?
“He likes to – when tackles punch him – lift their outside hand and pull himself through,” Goedeke added. “That’s kind of his signature thing. [You have] to just find a way to try and avoid that or re-fit your hand and everything. He’s a really slippery guy as well. He has good power too.”
There is no question that Nick Bosa is a top-tier pass-rusher. Bosa will surely be fired up to get after Baker Mayfield yet again, but if the Bucs can manage to slow him down this around, it would give the team a better chance to head into their bye week with a win.