The San Francisco 49ers defensive line got to know Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins really well during Saturday's 27-10 win at Levi's Stadium. Five different 49ers defenders met up with the quarterback six total times in the backfield. The team knew it would need to disrupt Cousins to stop the Vikings offense.
The defense accomplished that task.
Nick Bosa had two of the defense's six sacks on Saturday. His seven pressures, two sacks, four hurries, one hit, and one pass defensed earned the rookie defensive end Pro Football Focus' highest-overall grade from the game.
"Bosa, you can't say enough positive things about him," cornerback Richard Sherman said after the win, "and his play and his impact, run game, pass game. He's just a dominant player. He wants to be dominant every down. He never gets complacent. He's always working, motor is always going. We're grateful to have him."
Bosa could see the Vikings offense start to get frustrated late in the game, and the defense took advantage.
"Yeah, I mean, later in the game, they were starting to jaw at each other," Bosa told reporters. "Yeah, we were bringing it on them, so they started to have some frustration, but we just kept bringing it."
Bosa and the defensive line refused to let up. That's the mentality that has been instilled in the unit by defensive line coach Kris Kocurek.
"Yeah, that's one of Kris' things," Bosa continued, "put the foot on the throat and twist it. Yeah, I mean, when you have somebody down, you definitely don't want to let up."
Below are the five highest-graded 49ers players on offense against the Vikings.
- Kendrick Bourne, WR, 84.2
- Ben Garland, C, 82.8
- George Kittle, TE, 78.5
- Mike McGlinchey, RT, 78.1
- Tevin Coleman, RB, 75.6
Below are the five highest-graded 49ers players on defense.
- Nick Bosa, DE, 91.6
- Dre Greenlaw, LB, 91.2
- DeForest Buckner, DT, 88.8
- Fred Warner, LB, 79.5
- K'Waun Williams, CB, 79.3
