Nick Bosa currently has a career-high 14 sacks with four games remaining. The third-year defensive end is well aware of the San Francisco 49ers single-season sack record—19.5 earned by Aldon Smith in 2012.
Bosa would love to surpass that mark.
"Yeah, I'd like that [record]," Bosa told reporters on Thursday. "Definitely would love to have my name on there for this organization. But also, I'm just trying to take it one day at a time."
The record wasn't a goal for Bosa when he started the season. However, being just six sacks away from surpassing Smith's mark makes the feat seem very attainable. Bosa has reached opposing quarterbacks six times over the last four games. A repeat performance in his final four-game stretch would earn him the record.
"I've never had this many," Bosa added. "Now I know I can get it."
Bosa's 2021 campaign is even more impressive considering the pass rusher is coming off a devastating ACL injury that shortened his 2020 season to just two games. The defensive end admits that he is feeling good, even after 14 weeks of NFL play, and is a better player than he was pre-injury.
And Bosa may be even better by the end of the season.
"I think I'm still getting better as we go," Bosa revealed. "I think today was my best practice so far. I kind of expected [to improve as the season progressed] with what I was dealing with, with the knee. I'm just glad I was able to just manage it the right way, and now it's on the right track."
Bosa doesn't worry about his knee anymore. He looks unstoppable on the football field. Bosa overcame his mental hurdles during that first game against the Detroit Lions on the turf of Ford Field.
"After that, I was pretty good, mentally," Bosa noted.
A confident and still-improving Nick Bosa is good news for the playoff-hopeful 49ers and bad news for opposing quarterbacks down the stretch.
