49ers, Nick Bosa survive brief scare in 27-10 NFC playoff win over Vikings
The 49ers crowd helped Nick Bosa bounce back from injury during their NFC Divisional Round victory over Minnesota.
The frightening sight of 49ers rookie star Nick Bosa writhing in pain on the turf put an immediate stop to the party atmosphere at Levi’s Stadium late Saturday afternoon.
After a few nervous moments watching Bosa still down after recording his first sack in nearly a month, the hushed crowd began a rthymic chant of “Bosa! Bosa! Bosa!” The deafening cheer energized Bosa, who was helped to his feet by trainers and even danced a bit off the field while encouraging the crowd to get even louder during his Lazarus-like comeback.
As tens of thousands of unrepentant communists chant “Bo-sa, Bo-sa”, Nick does this. pic.twitter.com/TQVB7JY7Uv
— Dieter Kurtenbach (@dieter) January 11, 2020
Nick Bosa wasn't down for long.
#GoNiners #NFLPlayoffs @nbsmallerbear pic.twitter.com/EM9KEYhEEQ
— NFL (@NFL) January 11, 2020
In reality, there was no need to worry about Bosa. Just like there was little reason to be concerned whether the 49ers could dispose of the Vikings and advance to next Sunday’s NFC Championship game — they easily manhandled Minnesota 27-10 in the NFC Divisional Round game.
The dramatic pause for Bosa’s health may have made for a nice resurrection moment, but the first-year defensive end sheepishly admitted it shouldn’t have gone that far.
But the scene wasn’t lost on NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth, who pointed out this 49ers team isn’t lacking for showmanship.
“This whole team has a little bit of big-time wrestling (in it), don’t you think?,” Collinsworth asked after Bosa went down following his early fourth-quarter sack. “I mean Kittle … You could see one of those wrestlers, Gorgeous George or somebody, laid out on the mat, staggering off and fist-pumping and getting the crowd going.
“This team definitely likes to have fun.”
It had been a while since Bosa and his fellow defensive linemen had the kind of fun they experienced against quarterback Kirk Cousins and the Vikings. San Francisco, which had just four sacks in its last five games, exploded for six sacks on Saturday, led by two from Bosa.
Before the defense could have fun chasing down Cousins, it first had to take down the huge obstacle in the person of Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, who helped Minnesota upset the Saints last week.
“It was the No. 1 emphasis all week,” Bosa said of trying to contain the Vikings’ bruising back. “We knew we were facing probably the best back we’ve faced all year in Dalvin. We knew we had to earn the right to pass-rush. So we took the run as serious as we could, shut it down.
“Then we ate.”
¯_(ツ)_/¯ @nbsmallerbear #BeLegendary pic.twitter.com/qqmq3gyj7k
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 11, 2020
On the play that took his breath away and ultimately energized the crowd, Bosa blew past Vikings right tackle Rashod Hill while dipping underneath Hill’s right shoulder to clear a path toward Cousins. While taking Cousins to the turf, Bosa landed hard on his stomach, which made for some brief discomfort.
It was a small price for Bosa to pay for his first sack since taking down Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan on Dec. 15 in the 49ers’ last loss. The Week 15 sack of Ryan was also Bosa’s first since Week 12 against the Packers as the No. 2 overall pick from Ohio State had been a constant double-team target by opponents.
Even with the late-season slump, Bosa finished the regular season with nine sacks and a team-high 25 quarterback hits.
The return of edge rusher Dee Ford, who hadn’t played since Dec. 8 because of hamstring and quad injuries, seemed to provide a huge boost to Bosa and the rest of the 49ers’ pass rushing crew. Ford had two quarterback hits and a sack in his return. DeForest Buckner, Solomon Thomas and Arik Armstead also took down Cousins.
For Bosa, the only thing better than spending time in his opponent’s backfield is getting to suit up for the 49ers.
“It’s unbelievable. I ended up in such a great place,” said Bosa. “Such (a) great fanbase. The Faithful came out today and I love every one of them.”