Nick Bosa grew up in Fort Lauderdale. He spends his time off during the offseason there, training with his brother, Joey. The Miami Dolphins are his hometown team. On Sunday at Levi's Stadium, the San Francisco 49ers defensive end will be looking to end the Dolphins' winning streak and maybe silence some of his friends.
"I've got some friends coming out," Bosa told reporters before Wednesday's practice. "They'll be wearing Dolphins jerseys. It would be good to shut them up."
Bosa is excited about the matchup and believes it may be a preview of things to come. Maybe these two teams will see each other again in February. For now, the pass rusher is focused on getting the win this weekend.
The Dolphins have won five consecutive games and scored 30 or more points in the last four. What is it that makes the Miami offense so impressive?
"I think it's [QB] Tua [Tagovailoa], honestly," Bosa replied. "He's on time with his deliveries, and he's super accurate. Obviously, he has two—well, more than two—but two very fast weapons out there, and they can run the ball. They've got [RBs] Raheem [Mostert] and Jeff [Wilson Jr.], so it's a multifaceted attack."
In reviewing Miami's offense this week, there is a sense of familiarity. Mike McDaniel served as the 49ers' offensive coordinator before landing the Dolphins' head coaching job this year.
"It does look very familiar," Bosa said. "The run-game stuff, definitely used to it a little bit with going against [head coach and 49ers offensive play-caller] Kyle [Shanahan] in camp and obviously going against Mike throughout the years. I'm sure there's going to be a few wrinkles, and they've played similar fronts to us this year, so we're going to watch those games a little more."
Mike McGlinchey ready for 'fun challenge'
While the Dolphins have won five straight, the 49ers have their own win streak going, beating their last four opponents, including his past weekend's 13-0 victory over the New Orleans Saints. While Miami boasts a potent offense, San Francisco owns a troublesome defense. The Dolphins rank No. 3 in total offense, surpassed only by the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills. Meanwhile, the 49ers have the top-ranked defense.
"I see a really good team, to put it frankly," tackle Mike McGlinchey said. "They have a great defense with a lot of good players. I don't pay much attention to their offense, so I'll leave the defensive guys to talk about that, but they've got a lot of guys that can play, a good three, four guys that can rush off the edge, and some big boys inside that make it hard to move them.
"So it's going to be a fun game, a nice fun challenge, and obviously a lot of familiar faces on the other side from—for me—college and in the pros. So it should be a fun little kind of homecoming this weekend."
Jordan Mason impressing coaches, teammates
Rookie running back Jordan Mason entered Sunday's game against the Saints after Elijah Mitchell suffered an MCL sprain and Christian McCaffrey was bothered by some knee irritation. Mason gained 25 rushing yards on his five carries, showing Shanahan that he could be depended on should his workload increase in the coming weeks, with Mitchell expected to miss the remainder of the regular season.
"We had two guys go down, and he was ready for it," Shanahan said on Wednesday. "Putting him in there at the end of the game, when the game was still tight, there's six minutes [left], and it was a 13-point game. A guy who hasn't been put in that much, I'd like to not put that pressure on him. I'd like to keep our vets out there, holding on to the ball and stuff, but our guys were a little banged up. And so we put him in, and I'm real glad we did."
Mason had a good training camp, impressing his teammates. He impressed the coaching staff enough to make the initial 53-man roster and patiently awaited his opportunities.
"He held on to the ball great," Shanahan continued. "There was no way he was fumbling it. But not only did he do that, but he moved the chains when it wasn't always blocked to move the chains, and I think that's what the players noticed on the sidelines, and I think the defense was really happy they didn't have to go back out there again."
A reporter asked McGlinchey what he saw from Mason in the running back's limited snaps against the Saints.
"I think the same thing that you've seen from Jordan all year long," McGlinchey said. "His heart, his passion, his toughness was all on display on that final drive. It's not often that you get the ball back with six-and-a-half minutes to go, and you can just run power seven or eight times and move the ball 60 yards for four first downs. A lot of that has to do with how hard he ran, protecting the football. And if that's the opportunity that he gets this week, we have a ton of confidence in him."
