Nick Bosa gets to Mahomes — but 49ers fall short in quest for sixth Super Bowl title
Nick Bosa needed just two plays to make his presence known in Super Bowl 54.
He helped keep Patrick Mahomes on his heels the rest of the night.
Even on an defensive line that features five first-round picks, Bosa — the Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas alumnus, NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and son of former Miami Dolphins first-round pick John Bosa — once again was the disruptive force the 49ers hoped he would be when they selected him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
This time, his performance paid dividends although another Kansas City Chiefs comeback spoiled Bosa’s homecoming in the 49ers’ 31-20 loss.
His final stats: Five tackles, a strip sack and a pass deflection.
Seemingly each time Bosa made a big play, the 49ers found a way to follow up by putting points on the board.
Let’s start with that first drive, the second play of the game.
Bosa pushed his way into the Kansas City Chiefs’ backfield, made his way in front of Mahomes and got his hand up just in time to break up a swing pass intended for running back Damien Williams.
The Chiefs punted two plays later, and the 49ers marched down the field for to the first points of the game nearly six minutes later.
And then there was the Chiefs’ opening drive of the second half, when Bosa bull rushed his way through the Chiefs offensive line and forced Mahomes to fumble for the second time in the game. Mahomes recovered, but threw an interception to Fred Warner one play later.
San Francisco responded with a six-play, 55-yard drive capped with a 1-yard touchdown by Raheem Mostert that gave the 49ers a 20-10 lead late in the third quarter that capped a run of 17 unanswered points.
Two big plays from Bosa. Ten San Francisco points as a result.
Overall, the 49ers found ways to get to Mahomes like few teams have been able to over his two season as a starting quarterback. San Francisco’s defense sacked Mahomes four times — just the second time this season he was taken down behind the line of scrimmage four times.
He was mostly contained in the pocket, rushing just nine times for 29 yards and a first-quarter touchdown on a 1-yard bootleg.
But on the Chiefs’ final two drives, no amount of pressure seemed to make the difference.
10 plays, 68 yards, 1-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce.
Seven plays, 65 yards, 5-yard touchdown pass to Damien Williams.
The 49ers’ lead was gone, never to be recovered.
But it doesn’t mitigate the impact Bosa had for the 49ers during this season, this playoff run, this Super Bowl.
He had 13 sacks in his first NFL season, including four in three postseason games.
And this from a South Florida player whose rise to NFL dominance began about 15 miles north of Hard Rock Stadium at St. Thomas Aquinas, where he racked up more than 65 tackles for loss and 24 sacks over his final three prep seasons.
Bosa was a two-time Miami Herald first-team All-Broward County selection as a sophomore and junior.
His success translated to his college career at Ohio State, where he was a first-team All-American and the Big Ten defensive lineman of the year as a sophomore but played just three games as a junior due to a core muscle injury.
A pair of injuries limited him early in his first season as well.
“It was a pretty low point in my life,” Bosa said this week. “Now, I’m on the highest pedestal. It’s been a whirlwind, a lot of ups and downs. I’m glad I pushed through.”
Now, he’s quickly morphing into one of the top defensive linemen the NFL has to offer.
This story was originally published February 2, 2020 at 10:10 PM.
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