San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa thinks his contract holdout could have something to do with his on-field performance so far this season.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Bosa said his late arrival may be having "a little bit" of an impact on his play:
"I think I'm trying to work on stuff on the run this year that I wasn't able to do in camp. So, those games that I mentioned, the two, I think I was thinking too much because I was trying to add something to my rush plan which is not what I want to be doing during season. I want to be locked in on what I do best and just doing it throughout the whole year. But there's no excuse at this point for that."
Bosa specifically cited the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco's Week 6 loss to the Cleveland Browns as games he felt like he didn't play well.
After winning Defensive Player of the Year last season, Bosa was away from the 49ers for all of training camp and preseason awaiting a long-term extension. The two sides finally agreed to terms on a five-year, $170 million deal that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL on Sept. 6, four days before San Francisco's Week 1 game.
Bosa only played 56 percent of the defensive snaps against the Steelers. The 49ers cruised to a 30-7 win and didn't need him to be a big factor.
In the six games since Week 1, Bosa has played at least 68 percent of the defensive snaps. He's been on the field for 132 out of a possible 146 snaps in the past two games combined.
Through seven games, Bosa only has 2.5 sacks. He's never had fewer than four sacks through the first seven weeks of a season, excluding 2020 when he only played two games because of a torn ACL.
There is some evidence of bad luck in Bosa's stat line. He leads the NFL with 17 quarterback hits. The four players directly behind him in that category—Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt, Josh Allen and Josh Sweat—all have at least 5.5 sacks.
The only other player with at least 11 quarterback hits and fewer than five sacks is Los Angeles Rams linebacker Byron Young (three sacks).
One reason the 49ers defense got picked apart by Kirk Cousins was because the front four couldn't get to the Minnesota Vikings quarterback. They had 15 pressures overall, including six from Bosa, but didn't sack Cousins once.
The success of San Francisco's defense depends on the defensive line being able to get pressure without sending extra help. It hasn't happened much in the past two weeks, and the 49ers have lost back-to-back games as a result.
Bosa will look to get back on track Sunday when the 49ers host the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals have the second-worst pass-block win rate in the NFL this season.
