The San Francisco 49ers have managed to stay undefeated despite a slew of injuries through the opening month of the season, but this latest one is severe and could very well change the trajectory of the NFC West race.
For the second time in his career, star pass rusher Nick Bosa has been ruled out for the season after tearing his ACL. He suffered a left ACL tear against the New York Jets in Week 2 of 2020, and now he’s torn his right ACL after it buckled in Sunday’s win against the Arizona Cardinals.
I don’t think we really need to articulate how impactful Bosa is as one of the premier edge rushers in the sport. The Seattle Seahawks’ only loss on the season came as a result of a Nick Bosa strip-sack on Sam Darnold after he drove Abe Lucas back into Darnold’s path. The five-time Pro Bowl selection has 64.5 sacks dating back to 2019, good for fourth-most in the league behind T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett, and Trey Hendrickson.
San Francisco’s defense has been excellent under the return of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, but there’s only so much you can do when your superstar is out for the year.
