The San Francisco 49ers suffered some terrible news this Friday. This Sunday, they will be without their star edge rusher, Nick Bosa, against the Green Bay Packers. Bosa was already playing through an oblique injury before aggravating it in the third quarter against the Seahawks last week. Nick Bosa has also been dealing with a hip injury this week, which further exacerbated his issues.
The absence of Nick Bosa puts a tremendous dent in the San Francisco 49ers defense, specifically with their pass rush. The 49ers had a rough time getting pressure on Geno Smith last week once Bosa went down. Now going against a Packers offense with a significantly smoother offense, this game could get ugly for the 49ers defense.
The Loss of Nick Bosa
Nick Bosa has been the bedrock of this San Francisco 49ers defense since he was drafted back in 2019. When he’s been on the field, Bosa has led the league in sacks once, and has finished at or near the top of every major pass rushing statistic year after year. And while he has been his usual dominant self this past season, the rest of the 49ers defense has not. The 49ers defense has been spotty even with Nick Bosa in the lineup playing at an elite level.
Now with him out, the floodgates could completely open for offenses to feast on San Francisco’s zone coverage scheme. The 49ers should seriously consider altering their defensive gameplan this week by blitzing more than they usually do, otherwise, Jordan Love will probably have ample time to make his reads and dissect this 49ers defense. If the 49ers cannot generate any kind of pass rush against this Packers offense, then they are done for defensively, it’s as simple as that. Without Nick Bosa, the San Francisco 49ers are in big trouble this week.
