According to Pro Football Focus, San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa registered five pressures in Monday night's game against the New York Jets, the most of any player in the contest. While he didn't record a sack, much of that can be attributed to quarterback Aaron Rodgers' quick release.
Bosa believes he's a more effective pass rusher now than in previous seasons. However, he was reluctant to share many details about his improvements, not wanting to give future opponents any hints about what to expect.
"I don't want to talk about it too much, but it'll come up on tape, and it already has," Bosa told reporters on Wednesday. "I think I'm a lot more balanced between my different rushes, and I think it's opening up some things. I was happy with the other night, once we started to get some ops later in the game.
Despite his satisfaction, Bosa knows there's room for improvement. He's eager to finish plays and notch his first sack of the season. His new teammate, defensive end Leonard Floyd, accounted for the 49ers' only sack on Monday night.
"It was awesome," Bosa said of Floyd's performance. "He was winning a lot, causing a lot of havoc. He had a couple of good plays in the run, [too]."
The 49ers cruised to a 32-19 win, kicking off their 2024 season with a 1-0 record. However, Bosa anticipates a stiffer challenge this weekend against the Minnesota Vikings.
"This week, I think we're playing, honestly, a better team," Bosa admitted. "They're playing better football, it looks like, and they run the ball well, and we're gonna have to be better in our techniques. We kind of got away with some things [on Monday]. So, yeah, we have to hone in and not pat ourselves on the back."
Bosa is preparing to face a familiar foe in Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, a former teammate. Darnold impressed in last week's 28-6 win over the New York Giants, completing 79.2 percent of his passes for 208 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Like Rodgers, Darnold was sacked just once in the game.
"He's stout. He could run a little bit," Bosa said of Darnold. "Since he's been here, I know how his arm strength is and how he's a good processor of information and [can] get the ball out. So it'll be the same formula—try and make him one-dimensional and then go from there."
As for the 49ers' dominant primetime victory, Bosa remains cautious.
"Like I said, we're not patting ourselves on the back," Bosa commented. "It's one game and we don't know how good we are yet, and we don't know how good other teams are, so we just have to keep getting better."
